Malta’s national airline has taken quite a beating over the past year and a half. From troubles with unions, to Covid-19… it has not been an easy journey.

The latest news is that performance bonuses of Air Malta’s top management have been permanently scrapped as a raft of reforms at Air Malta has been kickstarted by the Executive Chairperson, David Curmi.

The Malta Independent on Sunday reported that Curmi sent an email to top-level management on Friday informing them that the performance bonuses have been “permanently withdrawn with immediate effect.” The decision was backed by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, who is politically responsible for Air Malta, sources said.

Given the current situation, this does not come as a surprise. Indeed, perhaps this should have happened earlier, given the whole situation with pilots in 2020.

Tourism in Malta was badly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Airlines saw a massive reduction in passenger bookings, the hotel industry was practically brought to a standstill, and associated sectors also suffered.

1 June is meant to be the date when Malta proactively reopens to tourism. It will not be a quick recovery… it will likely be a slow one. After all, people are being more cautious now than ever before.

Air Malta will struggle, but it must survive. Malta must have the national airline, otherwise it risks not having connections to important destinations for Maltese, which might not be ideal for other airlines to operate.

As a small island nation physically cut off from the mainland, connectivity remains a very important element in this country’s goals and in our survival.

The Government is currently in discussions with the European Commission to allow state aid to be given to the airline. The struggling airline is looking to get around €290 million in Government assistance. Minister Caruana said last month that Air Malta is experiencing losses of over €170,000 a day just to keep aircraft operations going. One hopes that agreement on this will be found.

These are very particular times, and exceptions must be made. Sources described the ongoing negotiations between the Government and Air Malta representatives and the European Commission as “difficult and uphill.” The government must continue in its efforts.

Air Malta must also look to the near future with a different approach to the way it did in the past. While pre-2020 saw a booming tourism industry, the outlook for the coming years might mean that the airline would need to approach the situation differently.

It must focus on making a profit, staying on its feet and surviving. That needs to be the priority. It will not be an easy task by any means, and it might mean that some difficult decisions will need to be taken. Sacrifices, like the performance bonuses, will need to be made.