The Nationalist Party has highlighted 'secret deals' made by past Labour government ministers with regards to Malta's national airline.

Air Malta needs a serious vision so that it will not only be viable, but also profitable. "Over the last ten years, the Labour government had ministers who were interested in nailing it down."

The PN said that it wants Air Malta to remain Malta's national airline, and while it agrees with the need for a restructuring, is insisting that this must be done strategically, and not with a 'take it or leave it' attitude "as the government is doing."

The party said that Air Malta needs a serious vision, not only to be viable, but also profitable.

"Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, who is today responsible for the airline, is only interested in covering for the mistakes made by the Labour government over the past years, and this makes him complicit with the ministers before him."

The PN said that it doesn't want the airline to end up being a political football, and that an effective national airline can only make Malta more attractive.

The PN revealed that a contract that former Minister Konrad Mizzi had signed in January 2018 was kept secret, where he promised workers that they had a guaranteed job with Air Malta, with conditions that were signed in the collective agreement. "Aside from this, in two other separate agreements, then Minister Edward Zammit Lewis had given the option of three years of take home pay, but even these agreements were kept secret."

The PN said that Minister Silvio Schembri had fired 108 pilots  who, on their part launched a court case that is still ongoing, arguing that they were acting according to the Konrad Mizzi contract. "This bad leadership is leading the government to paying 100 million from the people's funds."