Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday that he expects crew on KM Malta Airlines flights to speak Maltese.

He was replying to questions following the controversy which erupted in the last few days after it became known that speaking Maltese was no longer a requirement for crew members on the newly-launched national airline.

“I gave clear instructions to the new national airline to ensure that the Maltese language is used [aboard],” the prime minister said. “I expect cabin crew to be able to speak Maltese when I am on the Maltese national airline.”

He said the airline had “assured him” that would be the case.

The airline said that it would not require applicants to speak both English and Maltese, as Air Malta did, in a bid to widen the net for possible applicants.

The Nationalist Party criticised the move, saying it was a shame that the Maltese language was being discarded.

A KM Malta Airlines spokesperson told Times of Malta that it would be ensuring at least one cabin crew member on each flight speaks Maltese. 

"Within a cabin crew operating team of 4-5 staff, KM Malta Airlines will always have crew who have good knowledge of spoken Maltese, but the airline may on certain routes, decide to enhance its in-flight language skillset for the benefit of its many foreign customers," a spokesperson said.