I refer to your editorial (TMID Monday 7 January), which, among other things, queried the status of Ryanair’s proposal to set up a permanent base in Malta. In reality this proposal was put to the government some time ago and the development of our eight routes is in part a consequence of the proposal.

Notwithstanding the new routes, the proposal remains on the able, and your government is very much aware of Ryanair’s long term interest in developing such a base, as we believe Maltese tourism and the Maltese economy in general needs low fares, and only Ryanair’s lowest guaranteed fares in Europe can realise both the tourist and business potential on the island to its maximum.

You state that “reports in the UK have suggested that Malta is the second most popular holiday destination for Brits”.

I regret that you are in error on this issue because Ryanair has only one route from the UK to Malta at present, primarily because we are blocked from opening up others by an effective Air Malta veto over the wishes of the government to support further growth by Ryanair.

Ryanair can certainly transform Maltese tourism, and the last 12 months have given a modest indication of both our potential to do that and also a glimpse of what could be done were we to secure an agreement to either establish a base in Malta, or to massively expand our operations from all our bases elsewhere with flights directly to the island.

Either way it is no exaggeration that one could expect to see passenger numbers at the airport double in a matter of two/three years and tourism to grow in double-digit percentage terms for each of the next four/five years.

This real prospect has already been achieved in many of the countries to which Ryanair has commenced and developed services over the last number of years. For Malta, whose economy is so dependent on tourism and whose island status makes low cost access an absolute pre-requisite for growth, any delay in pushing this agenda forward is only to the detriment of Maltese tourism and the economy in general

Michael Cawley

Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive

Ryanair

Ireland