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3 NEWS 15.4.2021 GOZO Fast Ferry Ltd has announced it will start operating a fast-ferry ser- vice between Gozo and Valletta from June, using two state-of-the-art high- speed passenger craft. e company — backed by Bianchi Group and Merrill Investments, who are experienced shareholders in the provision of transportation services both locally and internationally — has notified Transport Malta of its inten- tion to offer this service after the mar- ket was liberalised. e company has invested in two modern, environmentally friendly, high-speed passenger catamarans, that are equipped with the latest tech- nology to operate in full compliance with the requirements of the Port No- tice issued by Transport Malta. Each vessel is capable of comfortably carrying 300 passengers per trip, and will make the journey between Mġarr, Gozo, to the Grand Harbour in Vallet- ta in less than 45 minutes. Gozo Fast Ferry Ltd is collaborat- ing with Malta Public Transport, the operator of the bus service, to ensure users — including those who hold a Tallinja Card — are offered a val- ue-added, seamless, interoperable and fast journey. Passengers will also be able to pay for their trip using contactless bank cards, mobile phones and smart watches to ensure quick boarding and alighting. Details on schedules and pricing will be announced in due course. Gozo Fast Ferry Ltd to run high-speed service between Malta and Gozo FROM PAGE 1 "We are much more concerned that Lufthansa has received more than €10 billion and that Air France has received more than €9 billion, despite European law prohibiting state aid," O'Brien said. "at said, we will examine Malta's ap- plication and if we think it is appropri- ate to obect to it, we will take our objec- tions to the European courts." O'Brien said that it will be up to the Maltese to see how they would be best served. "On paper, €290 million seem like small fry, but it also sounds like a lot, amounting to aroun €700 for every per- son in Malta," he said. "at is a lot." O'Brien praised Malta's COVID-19 vaccination rollout, with 40% of the population having already received at least one dose. He said that this put Malta in pole position in being able to tourists once flights to the island resumed on 1 June. e UK market would definitely be looking at Malta, especially if a bilateral agreement on a vaccine certification sys- tem can be reached. "By the peak of the summer, Ryanair alone will be offering nine UK routes to Malta," he said. "at will make Malta a very viable choice." At the same time, Ryanair would also be serving 18 different routes from Italy to Malta. Four of those - Brindisi, Cagliari, Genoa and Trapani - are among the five new routes announced yesterday. e fifth route will be serving Chania, in Greece. With the new routes, Ryanair will be connecting Malta to 57 routes in 19 countries, through 155 weekly flights. It will have six aircraft based in Malta, with the number planned to rise to 10 by 2022. O'Brien said that Malta Air would be taking delivery of the first of six B-8200 aircraft in May. Seats to Malta went on sale on the Ry- anair website at €19.99. Parties and mass events Tourism minister Clayton Bartolo said the government would soon be releasing further details of its tourist recovery plan, announced at the begin- ning of April, and which will see Mal- ta reopeing its airport to tourists on 1 June. He said the Covid certificate being currently discussed with the UK would open a safe corridor for tourists who have already received full doses of any of the vaccines recognised by the Euro- pean Medicines Agency. "For others, however, PCR testing and the traffic-light system, which grades countries according to the risks they pose, will still apply," he said. Bartolo said that any decision as to whether mass events or parties would be allowed this summer would be based on the recommendations of the health authorities. "As we get closer to the day we reopen our airport to tourists, we must all re- main vigilant and obey the directives is- sued by the health authorities," he said. "is is definitely not the time to try and find a way around those directives. We must remain focused and be responsi- ble." 'Breaking down' Air Malta Air Malta has had its brand name 'sold' to the Maltese government for €21 million, in a capital injection from taxpayers' money. e "Air Malta" brand was hived off and acquired by the government-owned company IP Holding for a €21 million, a consideration valued by RSM Malta. IP Holding, whose directors are Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion and Ronald Mizzi, was created in 2019 for the specific licensing of intellectual property. In February 2020, IP Holding's share capital was increased to €21 million, held in the name of the Government of Malta, to reflect the acquisition of the Air Malta brand. e move forms part of a series of ac- tions designed to 'break down' Air Mal- ta's assets to be sold back to government for a much needed injection. In 2019, Air Malta hived off its landing and take-off slots at the Heathrow and Gatwick airports to Malta Air Travel Limited (MATL), a government com- pany which leases the slots back to the national airline, paying it €33 million in cash for its summer slots alone in 2018. e next year, Air Malta was expected to be paid €22.8 million for the winter slots. e government has proposed a five- year financing plan to turn Air Malta into a sustainable, profit-making, enter- prise. In February, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana confirmed that he was work- ing on "an honest and credible" plan to allow the country to help the national airline as it was making losses of over €170,000 daily just to operate its air- craft. EU governments are forbidden to give state aid if this does not ensure a level playing field among all economic play- ers. SEE ALSO Air Malta: déjà vu or starting afresh Editorial · Page 9 Ryanair adds four new Italy routes to serve Malta this summer

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