Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1127413
KURT SANSONE RYANAIR is set to open a Malta-based subsidiary that will start operating with six aircraft under the brand name Malta Air, MaltaToday has learnt. The Irish low-cost airline's subsidiary will have a head-office in Malta and the operation will also include a fully-fledged engineering department. Industry sources said Ryanair's move was "imminent" and the company in- tended to increase the number of planes operated by Malta Air to 12 over the coming years. This newspaper understands that talks are underway with Malta Industrial Parks to find a suitable location for a hangar on the airport perimeter. Ryanair currently has six airplanes based in Malta, which operate on more than 60 routes. These aircraft will be transferred to the new subsidiary and given a new livery. "Malta Air will be a low-cost carrier, part of the Ryanair group," the sources said. The move will see Ryanair transferring to Malta the 300 crew members current- ly servicing its six aircraft. "These workers will start paying taxes in Malta and the eventual expansion of Malta Air could see an additional 300 crew members make Malta their home in the coming years," the sources added. Ryanair's subsidiary will be the second airline after Air Malta to be based in Malta, giving the low-cost carrier perma- nency on the island. The decision to open a Malta-based subsidiary falls within Ryanair's strategy to operate subsidiary companies in dif- ferent jurisdictions. It did this in Poland last year, where Buzz operates on a Polish Air Operator's Certificate, and in Austria this year, where Ryanair bought low-cost carrier Laudamotion. Sources said talks between Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and Ryanair started around October last year. YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT maltatoday €1.95 2 today maltatoday This Week Actress Michela Farrugia on her role of Miranda in The Tempest Q and A Ian Schranz Film Vox Lux 2 The all new pull-out section INSIDE • LISTINGS • TV • LAW • CLASSIFIEDS today today SUNDAY • 9 JUNE 2019 • ISSUE 1023 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY 2 Did PN voters stay at home? Ryanair to set up fully-fledged Malta subsidiary LIVES AT RISK Malta's second construction disaster in two months PAGE 4 PN EXECUTIVE Irish low-fares giants to create new Malta-based airline Malta Air with six Ryanair aircraft Joe Saliba comes bearing the grim news: 'We won't win in 2022' MATTHEW VELLA THE Nationalist Party's execu- tive committee was yesterday treated to an eye-opening exer- cise by former secretary-general Joe Saliba, whose stark analysis seemed simple enough: the next general elections will not be won by the PN. Saliba, who tasted the glories of the PN under Eddie Fenech Adami when Malta became an EU member state in 2004, was secretary-general under Law- rence Gonzi up until the PN's victory in 2008. "Saliba said we will not win the next election, basing himself on the size of the electorates and who they voted for in the past four general elections and the European elections," one source in the PN executive, which in- cludes just over a dozen MPs, said. "Saliba said Labour's core vote is way bigger than the PN's, and with infighting having split the PN in two, there is no way we will be winning the next general election," the source said of Sali- ba's presentation. Minister Konrad Mizzi and Ryanair started around October PAGE 3 malta SUNDAY • Did PN voters stay at home? SILVAN AGIUS The Souleymane murder should raise the alarm in our society INTERVIEW 16-17 INSIDE MT2 election," the source said of Sali- PAGE 5 Number-crunching the European and local council election data PAGES 10-11 Nothing funny about the far-right Claudio Grech, Andrew Azzopardi and Maria Pisani on tackling a national culture of indifference PAGES 10-11