Austin Gatt vs Ryanair

RyanAir's chief operating officer Michael Crawley responds to Minister Austin Gatt's outragous remarks on low cost airlines:

I note, with some amusement, the comments made by the Minister for Industry, Austin Gatt, when he opened the Amitex Travel exhibitionon Thursday. In case his audience was misled in thinking he was referring to Ryanair when he spoke of a "particular low fare airline" I want to put the record straight. Firstly, Ryanair does not seek any subsidies or any preferential treatment against any other airline. The facts are that, as a result of its occupying a monopoly position, the charges at Malta International Airport are between three and four times those of Ryanair's average airport cost throughout Europe and indeed are 2.5 times those at London Stansted Airport..

Dr Gatt's protection of and concern for the status quo would be understandable but for the fact that tourism numbers in Malta have been broadly static for a decade and in reverse mode for the last two years, against a backdrop of double digit growth in many major European markets. For a country where tourism accounts for over 20 per cent of GNP, loss of market share and, more recently, an accelerating reduction in actual income earned from tourism is extremely damaging to the economy.

This year Ryanair will fly 42 million passengers, an increase of seven million over last year. We have offered to carry a small proportion of these passengers to Malta if the costs at MIA are brought into line with European averages. We seek no subsidies or preferential treatment. Yes, we are in business to make a profit but if that coincides with a massive beneficial impact on tourism in Malta and on the economy in general on the island, why is Dr Gatt protesting so much?