Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1128919
13.06.19 9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday, the newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN COORDINATING EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALISTS: MASSIMO COSTA | LIAM CARTER BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 RYANAIR'S decision to open a Malta sub- sidiary is a plus point for the country be- cause it gives the low-cost airline greater permanency on the island. For those who were around in 2005 when this country was having a heat- ed debate on whether low fare airlines should form part of the Maltese aviation landscape, the setting up of Malta Air by Ryanair is more than welcome. Back in 2005, then tourism minister Francis Zammit Dimech had warned how low-cost airlines and the internet were reshaping the aviation industry and Malta would be "foolish to play ostrich" by pre- tending the changes were not happening. e bold decision to open up to low- cost travel back then provided an impor- tant impetus to the tourism sector and gave Maltese travellers more options. Back then, a lot of scaremongering was happening with legacy airlines warn- ing that low-cost giants like Ryanair and Easyjet would come in, take what they want and pack their bags. is has not happened. Ryanair grew from strength to strength and the airline is today, along with Air Malta, a major contributor to air passenger traffi c. In Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi's words, Ryanair grew to become what ST is to the manufacturing industry – a big player the country cannot aff ord to lose. Enticing Ryanair to set up Malta Air was an important move and the government did right to pursue it. After Air Malta, the country now has a second airline based here. Malta Air will be paying taxes in Mal- ta, employing people who will pay taxes in Malta, and eventually setting up an engineering facility here. e aim of the company is to increase the number of planes it operates, a move that will give the tourism sector more oomph to con- tinue growing over the coming years. However, this development cannot be viewed in isolation. Malta has been grad- ually building an aviation cluster that is providing value added, jobs and has a po- tential for further growth. Malta Air's arrival was also accompa- nied by Ryanair's decision to register more aircraft in Malta. Apart from the initial six planes that will be operated by Malta Air, the Irish carrier also plans to register 60 aircraft that are based in Germany and Italy. is is tes- tament to the success of the Maltese air- craft registry. is is another side of the aviation in- dustry Malta has managed to develop more robustly over the past fi ve years. ere is still more that can be done to make the aviation sector an important cog in the economy. Government has been preparing an air- port masterplan to identify the diff erent zones around the airport perimeter and determine how best these can be used to develop aviation-related activities. is plan must be pursued and rolled out for consultation with clear deadlines for im- plementation. But moving ahead in this fi eld also re- quires that other sectors keep up with the pace. In education, MCAST and the Universi- ty of Malta must tailor courses to respond to these developments. Having a home- based skilled workforce is crucial, even if it will not be enough to fi ll in all the jobs that could be created. In fi nancial services, the banking sector must get its act together to off er aviation companies effi cient solutions. In enforcement, the forces of law and order and regulatory authorities must have the resources and expertise to act swiftly and robustly if need be. Nurturing the aviation cluster