Anyone who thinks that the exercise of submitting the Government of Malta’s report on Air Malta to the European Commission as being a rubber stamping exercise is barking up the wrong tree.

This is not the way the commission works. The Government of Malta has engaged the firm Ernst & Young to conduct an audit and to produce a business plan aimed towards making Air Malta profitable and sustainable.

It is understood that the report suggests the shedding of some 600 jobs, as well as downsizing the operational fleet by leasing out aircraft to other airlines. The plan also proposes to focus on core routes.

Of all the EU institutions, the European Commission is the most fastidious in going through reports and proposals. It is Europe’s legislative body and watchdog all rolled into one. If the EC gave the Government of Malta a brief in which to render Air Malta viable, then one can rest assured that there will be no concessions and that the business plan will have to address the issues highlighted in the original brief.

The Government of Malta submitted the said plan to the European Commission on Wednesday, and a reply is usually issued within 10 to 14 working days, meaning that there will be another session of to and fro once the EC issues its reply.

The Government of Malta, will of course negotiate to try and secure concessions which will allow the airline to continue to provide some vital functions. But it will raise more questions.

One such pertinent issue is that of offering very cheap flights to voters who want to cast their vote on polling days in Malta. Just doing a little bit of arithmetic immediately establishes that €35 per fare is not profitable, and the European Commission would do well to look into this issue.

We have raised the matter before – these seats are a waste of money. We have said time and time again that Maltese who are resident abroad should be able to cast a vote in their country of residence. There are various ways in which this can be done, and two are very obvious. Registered mail is one option, while voting through electronic means is another. If the government is still so skittish about the prospect of allowing (sad by true) people to vote by proxy, then surely arrangements can even be made to have them cast their vote at the equivalent of local councils, foreign police stations or even the embassy in that particular country.

Of course, the major issue that has plagued Air Malta for the past years is its swollen back office department. It was one of the first issues that Ernst&Young picked-up on, but no details have been made public yet as to what the plans for it actually are.

At the time of writing, the new Air Malta CEO was due to meet trade union officials to explain parts of the plan and what has been submitted to the EC. The GWU has already gone on record in an interview with this newspaper and has already said that they are not ready to endorse the restructuring plan. However, with the EC also set to cast its all seeing eye over the document, it would seem that the GWU and other unions might be asked to give up even more ground.