“It is a pity that this dated error is now being used to put the airline in bad light. Following this error, the airline, together with the publishers, had taken steps to ensure a better product. Both the editorial team and proofreaders have been changed and additional quality controls and verification processes have been put in place.”

The typo-riddled pull quote, which spelled ‘realise’ as ’relies’ and ‘angels’ as ‘angles’ was recently flagged by Maria Frendo, a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Malta.

Bizzilla’s executive editor Dayna Camilleri Clarke said it’s a pity that a screenshot from an old edition has resurfaced and that people believe it’s from a recent edition.

“It’s a pity because the new team have worked so hard on the magazine, and continue to do so every month,” she said.

History lecturer Simon Mercieca said the error justifies a recent call by PN MP Adrian Delia to scrap Il-Bizzilla as a cost-cutting measure, a proposal which Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has laughed off.

“What is even more distressing is the fact that our Minister of Finance, Clyde Caruana tried to ridicule Adrian Delia for suggesting that this magazine should be scrapped to save Air Malta money. However, whether scrapping such a magazine, money is going to be spared or not is no longer the issue,” Mercieca wrote.

“The issue is that this magazine is intended to be an introduction to Malta’s heritage for those visiting our island. Yet Bizzilla is such a poor quality magazine but has the gall to promote our beloved island: this beggars belief.”

However, Air Malta said in its statement that it fully supports the magazine, stating that it doesn’t only offer guests “interesting reading material” but also provides the airline with “a steady monthly revenue at no cost”.

“Despite the ongoing pandemic and the reduction in travellers over the past two years, Air Malta’s inflight magazine, produced in collaboration with agency TBWA\ANG, has continued to maintain its monthly appointment with its readers,” Air Malta said.

“As countries continue to open up and more individuals restart travelling, the airline looks forward to welcoming more guests and readers of its inflight magazine, onboard its flights very soon.”

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