Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543912
The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday. com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY Since we started planning this interview, a war broke out in the Persian Gulf with no indi- cation that it's going to stop anytime soon. How does this war and similar events affect MIA's work? Obviously, without doubt, our thoughts go out to the people who are caught up in this war and are suffering as a result… it has also created uncertainty. In terms of impact on MIA, operationally it's been minimal so I cannot say that we had any problematic days but obviously from a market perspective this is a big blow to the aviation industry as a whole. With regards to Malta specifically, I think it's highly dependent on the duration [of the war]. We've had a number of airline CEOs referring to an uptick of demand towards Malta.There is a sense of more demand, particularly for the shorter-term breaks. However, it's also market dependent. So not all markets are reacting in the same way… We need to obviously keep in mind, however, that the price of fuel has a big impact… you have countries that will react to the price of oil by reflecting this in energy bills, which in turn has an impact on disposable income, and so, how much money people have available to go on holiday. But also, [the impact on] the airlines. The fuel cost for airlines is typically between 25% and 40% of their total cost bill so it is a material cost implication which means that we will not see a big shift in capacity. Airlines will not necessarily deploy more flights towards Malta to make up for the higher demand… The last time we came to the airport was for a press con- ference about the MIA's east wing expansion project. How exactly does a project like this figure into the Malta Vision 2050? This expansion is being done primarily to make sure that our guests are having a better experience so I think it is completely aligned with the government's vision because at the end of the day I think we all agree that in Malta, the sky is not the limit in terms of tourist arrivals. We hit the four-million- mark last year and I do not believe Malta's direction is to continue to focus solely on numbers… We want to, in the new extension, give a stronger sense of a Maltese airport. So, we want to have a retail offering which is more Maltese. In a few months' time the American market here will be open through direct flights. It will be a relatively short peri- od, but how do you think this will affect tourism in Malta in general? From the American market, last year, we managed to attract some 85,000 passengers or tourists into Malta. So, the American market is already present on the island. Obviously, these arrivals needed a connection flight to reach Malta. With the Delta Air Lines announcement [of direct flights between Malta and New York] it's much more convenient, definitely, for tourists, especially in the New York area, to jump on a flight and fly directly to Malta. I think this is a very important milestone. The team, including government, worked very hard together with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) to get these flights. But I think the important part now, or the most important part, is that we, the stakeholders, give the guests a great experience of Malta because this will open up an opportunity for Delta and others to connect more points in the US if the performance is good… I think it opens up a great opportunity for Malta to continue to grow this important market because we all know, even NSO data shows, that the American market spends from up to €1,500 down to €250 per night. Let's change the subject. You had recommended a Miche- line-style benchmark for the tourism sector. How does this work? The idea comes from something we do at the airport. At the airport, we measure everything. I'm a strong believer that what is not measured is not done. So, we measure our check-in efficiency… By emulating what we do as an airport into what the country can do, Malta has an opportunity to come up with a benchmark-style of making sure that if we're talking about transportation, there is a way to measure the experience we give our tourists, rating them and maybe incentivising people to do better. A number of projects were put on pause due to the pandemic. Can you update us on the state of the MIA's projects? One such project is the investment in our terminal operations, which is a significant portion of our total investment. We have investment in our retail and property, effectively Skyparks 2, and also investment in sustainability. So, making sure that we continue to lower our climate impact and continue to make sure that we reach our target of net zero by 2050. In 2025, we managed to hit carbon neutrality with the help of a major solar panel investment of €4 million and the purchase of carbon credits. We are dedicating a significant amount to the east extension so we will have this project complete by 2028 and then we will continue to look at the remaining phases of the extension. This current extension is just another phase and afterwards we will look at the arrival side of the terminal building. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MARCH 2026 INTERVIEW