Malta airport regains 86.3% pre-pandemic traffic in July

Aug 10 2022

As the tourism sector revitalises itself following the advent of COVID-19, July 2022 yielded very positive results for Malta International Airport as it recovered 86.3% of pre-pandemic traffic.

This translates to around 689,145 passengers travelling through the airport, with MIA saying on Tuesday that July seat capacity was at 85% of 2019 levels. The seat load factor increased by 1.2%.

The airport also revealed that last month’s seat load factor, at 88.3%, was the highest Malta airport registered in July since 2016. The seat load factor (SLF) measures the seat occupancy on flights to and from Malta.

Italy topped the list once again, followed by the UK, France, Germany and Spain. The Italian market registered a small increase of 3% over July 2019, whereas the French market saw a massive jump of 41% compared to July 2019.

July’s results kicked up year-to-date traffic through the MIA up to more than 3 million passenger movements. This figure translates to a recovery of 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

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Photo Source: Rene Rossignaud (Malta International Airport).

Rector of St Albert the Great College warns MUT members about comments on social media

Aug 10 2022

Rector of St Albert the Great College, Fr.Aaron Zahra, has warned the MUT and its members to be careful as to what they comment on social media about him and other priests and staff of the college after the highly controversial dismissal of headmaster Mario Mallia.

In a statement by the MUT, they confirmed that the rector had warned MUT president Marco Bonnici that he will involve the police if the derogatory comments by MUT members continue on Facebook.

This comes after a number of negative comments surfaced under Zahra’s post notifying the public that vacancies for heads of school, primary and secondary schools have been issued. Despite many offering criticism as to why Zahra had not waited for the final tribunal judgement before finding a replacement for Mallia. Other comments however were harsher in their approach, prompting the statement by the rector.

MUT also confirmed that rector has sent legal letters to all members of staff who took part in the protest. As of right now the case of Mario Mallia’s dismissal is in front of the Industrial Tribunal after the union opened the case.

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Gozo losing its ’charm’ as over-development continues finds survey

Aug 10 2022

Malta’s sister island of Gozo has been found to be losing its charm according to all establishments taking part in a survey organised by the Gozo Tourism Association.

The GTA conducted an online survey over the past two weeks to assess the touristic product and constraints encountered by Gozitan establishments during COVID-19 recovery.

Various fields participated in the survey, ranging from restaurants, accommodation, diving centres, transport, travel agencies, real estate and tour operators. They all confirmed previously held suspicions: serious concerns about over-development.

All 100% of the establishment stated that Gozo is losing its charm and characteristics due to this phenomenon. A further 91% stated that the development will keep tourists away from visiting the island, whether they be Maltese or beyond.

In terms of other factors, 81% said that the unfinished projects are leaving a ‘shabby look’ on the island. 62% said that Gozo needs a general clean up and continued maintenance on gardens and playing fields.

55% said their establishments need to be renovated with 95% of those saying this claiming that they are not financially in a place to conduct such refurbishment.

66% proposed the postponement of employment with the public sector when asked for proposals to mitigate staff shortage. 64% suggested tax incentives for employees and 54% suggested the fast tracking of work permits and visa applications.

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Ryanair cabin crew strikes begin and could last until January 2023

Aug 10 2022

A new wave of Ryanair cabin crew strikes have just started this Monday 8th August and are set to continue until January of 2023.

The main strand of strikes comes from the airline’s Spanish cabin crew union members who are protesting for higher pay and better working conditions.

It is estimated that 24 hour strike action – running from Monday to Thursday – may impact up to 1.4 million passengers, or around 130,600 travellers per day. Airports in Valencia, Girona, Santiago de Compostela, Ibiza, Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Alicante will all be affected.

The strikes are being backed by union groups USO and Sitclpa, with leader of the former group Lidia Aransanz saying that ‘as the company has been unable to listen to the workers, we have been forced to call new strike days.’

Despite this, Ryanair insisted passengers shouldn’t expect many problems as the strikes are poorly supported and have minimal effect. News portal LadBible was informed that Ryanair negotiated collective agreements covering 90% of workers across Europe.

‘In recent months we have been negotiating improvements to those agreements as we work through the Covid recovery phase’ said a spokesperson. ‘Those negotiations are going well and we do not expect widespread disruption this summer.’

#MaltaDaily