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3 NEWS 20.1.2022 easyJet renews Base Maintenance contract with SR Technics Malta for two more years FROM PAGE 1 He said that figures published this week by Malta International Airport clearly showed that the harsh measures and travel restrictions Malta adopt- ed during the pandemic had left the country lacking behind Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal. 2,540,335 passengers travelled through MIA last year. is reflects an increase of 45.3 per cent over 2020 fig- ures but marks a recovery of just 34.8% of 2019 passenger numbers. Zahra said Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne was wrong to suggest that further studies and evaluation would be necessary be- fore the government reeavluate its po- sition on the mitigating measures. "is is not on," he said. "People have sacrificed everything and have even had freedoms taken away. Now he wants to do more studies? Enough is enough I say!" Zahra said that, like many other people, he has now had enough and vowed he would not take a fourth booster jab, even if mandated by the authorities. "Vulnerable people should decide for themselves whether they want to live a normal- and face some risk - or to stay cooped up inside indefinitely," he said. "We are all adults, and we have all had enough." Zahra said that Fearne's hint at fur- ther possible measures was uncalled for and insisted that people could not be expected to remain home indefi- nitely. He said that if someone feels threat- ened in the circumstances, they can stay at home if they want. But people also want - and need - to get on with their lives, he said. "Mr Fearne, I want my freedom back!" he said. "is is not on anymore." Post-COVID strategy In a statement on Tuesday, MIA CEO Alan Borg said that the instant impact on air travel of the introduction of tighter restrictions towards the end of 2021, had once again highlighted the fact that the tourism industry's recov- ery remains at the mercy of how gov- ernments respond to the changing epi- demiological situation. "e introduction of stricter and un- even entry requirements across Europe at the end of 2021 has already led to the cancellation of around 850 flights for the first quarter of 2022," he said. Borg acknowledged the local authori- ties' efforts in putting Malta in the lead in relation to vaccination coverage. But he went on to urge government to now shift its focus on publishing a post-COVID strategy, which would give the industry confidence to invest in businesses, thus contributing to an enhanced tourism offering and in- creasing the island's competitive edge. Fierce competition e number of passengers who trav- elled through MIA in 2021 reflected a 45.3% over 2020 figures, but marked a recovery of only 34.8% of 2019 passen- ger numbers. e top drivers of traffic for the year were Italy and the United Kingdom, both of which enjoyed a 19% market share, followed by Germany, France and Poland. A look at Malta International Air- port's monthly traffic performance shows that after the first half of the year, air travel started to gain momen- tum on the back of increased stability and an improvement in consumer con- fidence, with passenger movements for the third quarter of 2021 more than tri- pling over the previous quarter. October, which saw Southern Euro- pean airports register improved pas- senger traffic results, was Malta In- ternational Airport's best-performing month with more than 428,000 passen- ger movements recorded. is can be attributed to a delayed peak in the demand for leisure travel spurred by the easing of travel require- ments as the year progressed, up until the emergence of a new virus strain in November 2021. Borg said that summer 2022 is ex- pected to be characterised by fiercer competition among similar destina- tions, particularly as vaccination up- take across Europe continues to in- crease. Data released by Airports Council International shows that at 33.5 per cent, Malta's recovery for the period between January and November 2021 still lagged behind that of Southern Eu- ropean peers such as Greece (52.5%), Cyprus (44.3 per cent), Spain (41.7%), and Portugal (40.3%), despite Malta In- ternational Airport's success in retain- ing more than 70% of its connections for 2019 throughout the year under review. Fierce competition expected in summer, as European vacination uptake increases THE Malta subsidiary of SR Technics, a world leading MRO service provider, has announced it has renewed a base mainte- nance contract with easyJet for an additional two years. e agreement covers two lines of base maintenance work. e leading European airline easyJet has been supported by SR Technics for a range of MRO services over the years. By December 2022, SR Tech- nics will have serviced a total of 35 aircraft under this particular agreement and expects to han- dle up to a total of 45 aircraft by the completion of the contract. While the work to date had been done at the existing facil- ity in Malta, it will soon con- tinue at the MRO supplier's new six-bay hangar scheduled to open at the Malta Airport in Safi in February 2022. Daniel Galea, SR Technics Malta Vice President Opera- tions, said: ''We are immense- ly delighted and honored to secure this contract extension with our highly valued and im- portant customer easyJet. It has been an incredible journey since 2010, and we look forward to continuing delivering our services to the highest safety and quality standards.'' Brendan McConnellogue, easyJet Director of Engineering and Maintenance commented: "We are extremely pleased to be extending our relationship with the SR Technics team in Malta. It's hard to believe that it has been more than 11 years since SR Technics delivered the first A319 IV check back to easyJet, and they continue to support us in ensuring the highest levels of operational safety for our fleet , all with the same dedication and enthusiasm, as they did on the very first aircraft back in 2010."

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