850 flight cancellations for Malta Airport’s first quarter of 2022

Jan 18 2022

The Malta International Airport revealed on Tuesday 18th January that despite the number of passengers travelling through its gates improved considerably last year over 2020, the numbers remained far lower than pre-COVID figures.

Any progress was significantly stalled by the new variant Omicron in the last two months of last year. The consequences spilled into 2022, as some 850 flights were cancelled for the first quarter of this year.

An increase of 45.3% over 2020 was noted for last year, with 2,540,335 passengers having travelled. This was however just a recovery of 34.8% of 2019 passenger numbers.

Italy and the United Kingdom were the leaders in terms of travel traffic, with both enjoying a 19% market share. Germany, France and Poland followed suit, air travel gaining momentum in the second half of the year.

Passenger traffic in fact tripled over during the third quarter due to consumer confidence and increased stability. October performed the best for Malta’s airport, with more than 428,000 passenger movements reported.

MIA CEO Alan Borg said that this could be attributed to delayed demand for leisure travel as measures continued to ease. The emergence of Omicron changed the course of this resurgence, with the ‘introduction of stricter and uneven requirements across Europe at the end of 2021 [already leading] to the cancellation of around 850 flights for the first quarter of 2022.’

As summer 2022 is expected to be characterised by fiercer competition as vaccination uptake in Europe increases, Borg urged the government to shift its focus on a post-COVID strategy.

This would give the industry confidence to invest in businesses. Borg also highlighted how by aligning Malta’s entry requirements to EU regulations, the government would be instilling confidence in travellers to book their upcoming trip.

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Robert Lewandowski wins Best FIFA Men’s Player award

Jan 17 2022

Robert Lewandowski has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award for the second year in a row. This time he had to beat Argentinian legend Lionel Messi for a second time and Liverpool star player Mohammed Salah. Other awards such as Best FIFA Women’s Player and best coach for both men’s and women’s football were also awarded.

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Spanish playmaker Alexia Putellas won the female version of the award, after a stellar season helping Barcelona achieve a historical treble winning the Spanish league, the Spanish cup and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Chelsea coaches Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes both won the male and female version of the best coach of the year award. Tuchel’s Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League whilst Emma Hayes guided her Chelsea team to a domestic double, winning the league and the cup.

Chelsea goalkeepers Edouard Mendy and Lyon keeper Christiane Endler won the Goalkeeper of the year awards. Mendy was a crucial player in the Chelsea side that went on to win the Champions League whilst Endler helped PSG in dethroning her new club Lyon’s 14 year title winning spell.

Special awards were given to Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Canada captain Christine Sinclair for both breaking international team goal records. The Puskas award, given to the player who scored the best goal was won by Argentinian Erik Lamela for his rabona goal in the North London derby against Arsenal.

The FIFA Fair Play award was given to the Danish medical and national team for saving Christian Eriksen’s life back in June during the Euros.

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Robert Abela and Bernard Grech visits Strasbourg to bid farewell to Sassoli and support Metsola

Robert Abela visits Strasbourg to bid farewell to Sassoli and support Metsola

Jan 17 2022

Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela is currently in Strasbourg for an official visit following the unfortunate passing of EP President David Sassoli and Roberta Metsola’s appointment as Acting President.

Metsola is also the European People’s Party candidate for the role of EP President and a near-certain election winner ahead of Tuesday morning’s official election. Three other candidates will be contesting for the role and while nothing is set in stone, her recent successes in the European Parliament and appointment as Acting President make her a favourite.

Abela gave Metsola his well-wishes upon arriving in Strasbourg, stating that while ‘there were episodes in the past’, they belong in the past and today is a day in which we look to the future.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech also made his way to Strasbourg in order to show his support for Roberta Metsola.

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Volt Malta propose increasing minimum wage to €1,100 monthly

Jan 17 2022

Political party Volt has expressed its belief that every worker has the right to a living minimum wage. The party proposed the minimum wage to increase to €1,100 a month, with the aim of achieving it within 3 years.

In a statement, Volt revealed that it reached this figure by calculating 60% of the median wage, based on recommendations of the European Commission for a decent minimum wage.

‘Latest Eurostat data shows Malta’s minimum wage is 43% of the median wage, so 60% of the median wage (€1824.84) would be €1094.90.’

The party also called for the establishment of a Living Wage Directorate within the NSO that is responsible for regularly calculating the living wage. The NSO would also provide regular public figures on the median wage within the regular Labour Force survey.

Kassandra Mallia, Volt Malta Candidate and Vice-President said that ‘In Volt Malta we believe having good food and water, clothing, safe housing, efficient transportation and affording emergency expenses is a human right. A living wage is a stepping stone we are pushing for to make sure everyone has this right.’

Commending the efforts of Foodbank Lifeline and urging people to donate to them, the party acknowledged that current rising prices on essential items such as bread and dairy are worrisome and are impacting the working poor among us.

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