Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1356256
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 MARCH 2021 NEWS KURT SANSONE AIR Malta's accounts will only be published after the Europe- an Commission gives its verdict on government's application for state aid, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said. Air Malta's financial year ends in March but the govern- ment-owned company did not publish its accounts last year for the period that preceded the COVID-19 pandemic. Caruana told MaltaToday that the airline's accounts "are ready" but will not be pub- lished as yet. "We are presenting the ac- counts to the European Com- mission as part of our applica- tion to get the green light for state aid injection," he said, adding that all the information will be released after the Com- mission's verdict. Caruana would not quantify the size of the state aid package but in the past, he has said it will run into "tens of millions". Like other airlines, Air Malta took a battering last year as a result of travel restrictions to curb the spread of the pandem- ic. However, it is understood that the airline had already been making losses in the preceding year. Last month, Caruana told sis- ter newspaper Illum that Air Malta was making operational losses to the tune of €170,000 per day as a result of the pan- demic. He said that without state aid injection, the airline will not survive. Air Malta had to make most of its pilot staff redundant last year. The company had benefited from a state aid injection of €200 million back in 2012, and further capital injections from strategic asset sales to the gov- ernment in 2018. In February 2020, Malta- Today had revealed that Air Malta's journey to sustainable finances had once again been hampered by a year in which operational losses had climbed to €30 million. But that was the figure right before the COVID-19 pandem- ic shut down the international travel industry, grounding all airplanes, and contributing to well over €100 million in losses for the beleaguered airline. While in 2017, the company reported operating losses of €10.8 million, the airline regis- tered a small €1.2 million prof- it, prior to restructuring costs. But this was down to clever book entries that allow the Maltese government to inject more cash in the airline. Under state aid rules, Air Malta can no longer use tax- payers' cash after the €200 mil- lion restructuring programme of 2012. So in 2018, the airline reval- ued its properties upwards, ob- taining a €16 million boost to pad €223 million in accumulat- ed losses from previous years. The real money-spinner for Air Malta were the millions paid by the Maltese govern- ment to buy the airline's land- ing rights at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. To do this, the government creat- ed a company to acquire the slots and then lease them back to the airline. Those landing rights were given a speculative value of €33.8 million just for the summer alone. The same was expected to happen in the financial year ending March 2019, where the winter slots would be valued at €22.8 mil- lion. No Air Malta accounts two years in a row Air Malta accounts to remain under wraps until Brussels decides on state aid application Finance minister Clyde Caruana would not quantify the size of the state aid package but in the past, he has said it will run into "tens of millions". KURT SANSONE OPPOSITION to hunting runs at 42.4% with Nationalist Party voters more likely to be against than Labour Party voters, a MaltaToday survey shows. The findings show that 24.4% are in favour of hunt- ing, while a substantial part of the population (28.9%) is neu- tral on the matter or unsure (3.5%). The survey was conducted at the beginning of March and asked whether respond- ents were in favour or against hunting. When broken down by po- litical allegiance, the survey shows that 29.4% of Labour voters in the 2017 general election are in favour of hunt- ing. Likewise, 20.5% of Na- tionalist voters are pro-hunt- ing. However, opposition runs higher among PN voters with almost half of those who supported the party in 2017 (49.9%) against hunting. Op- position to hunting runs at 33.6% among Labour voters. The results are a reflection of the PN's often ambiguous stand on hunting as it tries to balance support for the hunting community with its stronger voices opposed to the pastime. The findings also reflect a regional divide on the issue with the strongest support for hunting found in the Western region and Gozo, both rural areas and home to large hunt- ing communities. In the Western region, 34.5% of people agree with hunting, while 38.1% are against. In Gozo, 32.4% are in favour of hunting, while 40.4% are op- posed. The lowest support for hunt- ing is found in the Southern Harbour region with 19.5% in favour. However, this urban and industrialised region is al- so home to the largest cohort of uninterested people with 34.7%. The strongest opposition to hunting is found in the North- ern region with 47.7% against the pastime, followed by the urban Northern Harbour re- gion with 45%. Support for hunting runs strongest among those aged between 36 and 50 with 28.7%, while the strongest cohorts against hunting are among those aged 51-65 (45.7%) and 16-35 (45.5%). In the 16-35 age group, sup- port for hunting runs at 26%, while 25% don't care about the issue and 3.6% are unsure. Hunters got their way by a whisker in a 2015 referendum on spring hunting. At the time, 50.4% voted in favour of having a spring hunting sea- son and 49.6% voted against. The turnout was 74.8%. Although the referendum fo- cussed on the particular issue of spring hunting, the result flipped in favour of hunters because they managed to sway neutral voters. MaltaToday's latest survey findings show that although the pro-hunt- ing community is a minority, even if a strong one, neutral voters remain kingmakers on the issue. PN voters and young offer strongest opposition to hunting • Support for hunting strongest in Gozo and Western region Opposition to hunting runs at 42% as neutral voters remain kingmakers