Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi has appointed a new board for Air Malta, with former minister and PL Deputy Leader Charles Mangion as chairman.

Mangion, who previously served as Enemalta chairman, replaces Maria Micallef, who was asked by to resign by the new tourism minister. 

The new Deputy Chairman is Ray Sladden. The directors of the new board are Joseph Gasan, Katrina Borg Cardona, Jonathan Scerri, Tania Brown, Alex Sciberras and Rita Sammut. Andre Borg is the Board Secretary.

In a statement the government said Minister Konrad Mizzi thanked the outgoing board of directors led by Chairperson Maria Micallef for their leadership, and the valuable contribution to the national airline.

“Ms Micallef has provided stewardship to Air Malta during challenging times. Her dedication and abilities managed to see the airline through in challenging times, during which she laid the foundations to enable the airline to survive in the highly competitive market it operates in.

Minister Konrad Mizzi looks forward to work with the board of directors on the next phase of the Air Malta transformation.”

Minister Mizzi thanked President Emeritus Dr George Abela for his leadership in facilitating employee relations negotiations. Dr Abela will continue to lead negotiations with unions, and will work closely with Government and the new board. He will be supported by Permanent Secretaries Ronald Mizzi, Alfred Camilleri, and the technical team.

Micallef to head National Oil Corporation

In the meantime the Office of the Prime Minister announced that Micallef will head the National Oil Corporation.

In a statement the OPM said: “Ms Micallef was in 2014 appointed as Chairperson of Airmalta, and achieved remarkable financial improvements during the three years of her tenure. Her skills will now be used to make a turnaround in this area, particularly in the field of oil exploration. 

The new set-up will be in line with the Government’s manifesto to set up a new entity to focus primarily on the potentials of oil exploration.  The new Corporation will also continue working on the diplomatic efforts which had started in the past legislature. 

 

The Government believes that Ms Micallef will show the same dedication and level of passion she put on Airmalta, in this new assignment.”