Economist Calls Out ‘Pettiness’ Of Politicising New Airline’s Maltese Language Decision
Leading economist Marisa Xuereb has criticised the politicisation of KM Malta Airlines’ initial decision to scrap knowledge of the Maltese language as a job requirement for cabin crew.
Xuereb, a former Chamber of Commerce President and the current chairperson of Epic, outlined her thoughts on the controversy, which was criticised by PN and PL politicians alike and which culminated in Prime Minister Robert Abela intervening to reverse the airline’s decision.
“Should we expect announcements on the national airline to be made in Maltese, English and the language of the country which the flight is flying to or from? YES,” she wrote.
“Should we expect the majority of the crew to be able to communicate well in both Maltese and English? YES.”
“Would it be reasonable to have at least one crew member who is fluent in the language of the country which the flight is flying to or from? YES, it is desirable to provide a good service and imperative for safety reasons.”
“How big is the pool of people who want to work as cabin crew and can communicate well in both Maltese and English and are fluent in at least one other language? SMALL, and getting smaller every day.”
“Is considering supplementing the workforce with people who bring a wider language skillset a good idea? DEFINITELY, it is imperative given the shortage of resources and shrinking language skill set that we are experiencing in the local workforce.”
“How do we come across when we politicise decisions that make good business sense and enhance our service offering on the international market? PETTY.”
KM Malta Airlines was set up to replace Air Malta, which had to close down after 50 years due to serious financial concerns.
When establishing the new airline, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana stressed that it should be run on purely commercial lines, without political considerations.
“This was a supposedly commercial company which one administration after another used and abused and rendered into a government department, or worse,” he told Parliament.
However, Abela’s intervention in the Maltese language issue shows that politics is clearly not absent from the new airline.
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