Air Malta Executive Chairman David Curmi ‘instrumental’ in run-up to new national airline

Air Malta plc Executive Chairman David Curmi has proven to be “instrumental” in the process of winding down Air Malta and launching a new airline, Prime Minister Robert Abela has said.

This came as Prime Minister Abela and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana addressed a press conference on Monday (today) regarding the closure of the present national airline on 30th March 2024, with a new airline commencing operations on the following day. Minister Caruana explained that Air Malta accumulated €356 million in losses over the past 20 years, with a negative equity of €120 million. The European Commission has approved an investment of €350 million in the new airline by Government.

Additionally, Minister Caruana announced that the new airline will operate 17 routes, with present routs to Palermo, Nice, Naples, Tel Aviv, Geneva, and Lisbon being terminated. Tickets for the new airline will become available from December. Passengers who bought tickets for after 31st March 2024 will be able to apply for a refund from this November.

When asked directly about the Executive Chairman’s future at the airline, Prime Minister Abela said the last few months have shown that through Mr Curmi’s leadership and the rest of the team, the company “can be viable”.

“Mr Curmi was instrumental to leading us to today, and in the coming months, he has an important transition function from today until March 2024,” he said.

“Naturally, after March, you will have another period which will be very sensitive for the new company to ensure that it literally gets off the ground in the correct way, and then when it comes to taking decisions about Mr Curmi in the future, we will do so,” Prime Minister Abela continued.

“What I can say is that I value his contribution over the past months, and I know how professionally he worked,” he added.

Mr Curmi was first named Executive Chairman of the national airline in 2020, and his appointment came into effect at the start of 2021. His start to life at Air Malta was marred by the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time he described as the company’s “most difficult ever”.