The Nationalist Party said it is insisting that the accounts of KM Malta Airlines are published, following reports that the national carrier is recording losses amounting to tens of millions of euros, far exceeding the original projections.

These reports must be either confirmed or denied on the basis of facts. The most credible way for the Government to do this is to publish KM Malta Airlines' audited accounts immediately, the PN said Friday.

Members of Parliament from the Partit Nazzjonalista have been requesting information about the airline's financial position for years. Through a Parliamentary Question in March last year, the PN asked the government whether KM Malta Airlines' books indicated that its financial stability targets were achievable and what the company's financial position was.

The reply was that, following the end of the financial year and the necessary audits, the company would publish its accounts in accordance with the applicable rules.

The PN said did not stop there. Shortly afterwards, it again asked whether the profit targets were expected to be met, while in November it requested a clear date for the publication of KM Malta Airlines' accounts.

Scrutiny continued through another Parliamentary Question, in which the government was asked why the statutory financial statements had still not been filed with the Malta Business Registry and whether they had been approved by the Board of Directors.

Subsequently, the PN said it drew attention to the company's obligations under the Companies Act and asked whether the financial statements should have been approved by 31 August 2025 and filed with the Malta Business Registry by 12 October 2025.

Instead of replying, the Minister said that the answer would be provided at another sitting. When the same question was raised again in Parliament, no reply was forthcoming, with the Minister once again stating that it would be answered on another occasion.

Then, in January of this year, when PN MPs once again requested answers to the outstanding questions, the Minister again said that the reply would be provided at another sitting.

For months, the Opposition has been calling on the government to answer questions about these accounts. The PN said it has repeatedly demanded explanations, yet the public still has no clear and audited picture of the national airline's financial position.

This is even more serious when one considers the amount of public money involved and the Labour Government's track record in relation to the national airline.

The Auditor General's Report on the Public Accounts for 2024 shows that the Government's equity in KM Malta Airlines increased to €350 million. Maltese workers, whose money is being invested in the national airline, therefore have a right to know whether these funds are being used in accordance with the approved plan and whether the financial targets are being met.

Another Parliamentary Question revealed that KM Malta Airlines paid €2,518,664 to a consultancy firm for work that included implementing its five-year Business Plan, supporting its finance function and creating a reporting framework through which the airline's performance could be measured against the plan's targets.

If more than €2.5 million has been spent and a system was created specifically to measure KM Malta Airlines' performance against its Business Plan, the public has a right to see the results, the PN said.

Important questions also remain about the plan to sell between 30% and 35% of KM Malta Airlines to a private strategic investor. The Government had stated that this process would move forward as quickly as possible. However, the latest reports raise serious doubts about how far the process has progressed and whether an interested investor has been found.

The government must therefore be clear with the public about the situation.

The PN said it believes in the strategic importance of a national airline for an island country such as Malta. It is precisely because we want KM Malta Airlines to succeed that we want it to be managed sustainably, responsibly and transparently.

Transparency is not an attack on the national airline. It is essential to protect the airline, its employees and the Maltese public's investment.

The PN is therefore calling on the Government to:

Publish KM Malta Airlines' audited accounts immediately;

Disclose the company's current financial position and state whether the Business Plan targets are being met;

Publish the airline's actual performance against its five-year Business Plan;

Explain why, despite years of Parliamentary Questions, these accounts have still not been made public;

Provide a clear update on the process to sell between 30% and 35% of the company to a strategic investor; and

Provide a complete picture of Maltese taxpayers' financial exposure to KM Malta Airlines.

The Maltese public has a right to know what the Government is doing with workers' money. The public has a right to see the national airline's accounts. The Government has a duty to act transparently and accountably, the PN said.

The statement was signed by Adrian Delia, Shadow Minister for Finance, Ivan Castillo, Shadow Minister for Sustainable Mobility, and John Baptist Camilleri,
Spokesperson for Aviation.