Air Malta Executive Chairman David Curmi

Air Malta Executive Chairman David Curmi on Wednesday spoke at a webinar by The Malta Chamber, titled 'Supply Chain Crisis: Managing the Reality', giving an overview of the national airline’s contribution to the supply of goods to the Maltese islands.

Amongst key conclusions drawn from his contribution to the webinar is that air cargo costs are “unlikely to decrease and more likely to edge upwards.”

This comes against a backdrop of rapidly rising maritime cargo prices which have seen shipping price increases passed onto consumers in some cases.

As reported by BusinessNow.mt in October, Malta’s Freeport increased cargo handling costs by 3.4 per cent as supply chain pressures continued to rise amidst a container shortages and COVID-related international transport difficulties.

Mr Curmi reflected that during the pandemic, Air Malta saw a decline in the amount of cargo carried, flying an annual average of 3.8 million kgs of cargo, down from a pre-pandemic annual average of 4.5 million kgs.

He stated that during the pandemic, unlike other low-cost carriers for whom cargo was not a priority, as the national carrier Air Malta played an important role in the carriage of goods by air to and from the Maltese islands.

Indeed, the importance of Air Malta, not just for cargo but for passenger transport has been emphasised in recent weeks. The Gozo Tourism Association, amongst other lobbying and expert groups, have pointed out that, as an island nation, Malta cannot afford to become fully dependent on other airlines, which themselves are subject to fluctuating market trends not necessarily aligned with the national interest.

Providing takeaways from the webinar on social media, Mr Curmi detailed that throughout the pandemic the airline carried a wide range of products and cargo, with demand remaining high and a quarter of flights carrying critical cargo including radioactive material for in-patient treatment at local hospitals.

Fortunately, the airline is “very positive” about its cargo position, which has been “robust and maintained throughout the pandemic.”

However, despite his confident outlook, Mr Curmi did acknowledge that the company does not expect to see any significant increase in demand for additional capacity in the coming year.