NEWS | Wednesday, 19 September 2007

Government opens up Venice route for low-cost airlines

The Government announced yesterday it will be issuing a call for proposals from low-cost airlines to operate the Malta to Venice route, which is currently underserved.
The call for proposals will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Government Gazette and will be advertised in international trade websites. The call is open until 18 October 2007.
The call, which will also be online next Thursday on the website of the Department of Information, opens up the possibility for airlines to operate three times a week to Malta from Venice, Italy.
This announcement comes in the midst of the discussions between Ryanair and the Government over the Bologna route, with the Irish-based low-cost carrier wants to take over from Meridiana in the winter months.
Ryanair Deputy Chief Executive Officer Michael Cawley will be arriving in Malta to see the state of the negotiations about the Bologna route. He will also be addressing the press this morning.
In an interview with Business Today (see pages 10-11), Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) President Josef Formosa Gauci said: “We understand that a short haul route was always part of the discussions on the new routes for this winter.
Formosa Gauci warned that if an agreement was not reached with Ryanair, “the other routes already announced may be put in jeopardy. If this were to happen, and the new routes do not all materialise this would be a major blow to the industry at a time when it is experiencing a long awaited turn around.”
Meanwhile, national carrier Air Malta announced yesterday that it will be launching a new route to Bologna in the winter months. The scheduled service to Bologna’s Giuglielmo Marconi airport will commence in mid-December and will be twice-weekly.