There is a large shadow over the future of Malta’s national airline.

Air Malta chairman David Curmi was reported on Tuesday to have said that the airline would be shut down and replaced by a new one by the end of the year. But then, in a confusing turn of events later that very same day, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that the European Commission has not taken a definitive decision about the future of Malta’s national airline.

Caruana said that the European Commission needs more information in order to allow the government to do what is necessary for the country to have a national airline. He said that no decision has been taken by the European Commission thus far, and said that any decision has to be based on the rules of the single market.

Now Caruana has pledged that he will be transparent, and will table all that needs to be tabled in Parliament once the discussions with the European Commission close and the Commission’s decision is made. But until then, he has made clear that he will remain tight-lipped, saying that making any comments now would not do any good.

Absolute transparency on this issue is of the utmost importance and the minister must keep his word and make all information public once a decision is made.

But on the other side of the coin there are valid arguments as to why people want an update now on the situation now. It is an issue that affects the entire country, with one of the major economic pillars – the tourism sector – directly affected. The country cannot be kept in the dark.

That aside, the contradicting statements by Air Malta’s Chairman and the Finance Minister shows that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Which, in itself, is a bit worrying.

There are many questions that will need to be answered depending on the outcome of the talks.

If a new airline does need to be created, what will happen to the workers still with Air Malta? Will they be guaranteed a job or not? What routes will the airline keep and what routes will it cut? What effect will it have on the wider tourism industry? Would it be able to keep the same market share?

If Air Malta by some miracle remains on as the national Airline, what will need to be done? Will it need to cut routes? How will it become commercially viable?

There will be questions that need clarifications no matter what the Commission’s decision will be.