Malta MedAir, the airline set up by the Government Malta in 2018 to inject capital into Air Malta while bypassing state aid rules, may be wound up once the new national airline announced on Monday is established.

Malta MedAir, legally registered as Malta Air Travel Ltd, paid Air Malta a total of €57 million over the 2018 and 2019 financial years in exchange for summer and winter landing slots at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

The summer slots cost €33.9 million, while the winter slots cost €23.1 million, as per Air Malta’s 2018 annual report.

In announcing that Air Malta will be wound up and replaced by a new flag carrier, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana disclosed that the new airline will be buying back the prized landing slots.

He said that Malta MedAir, stripped though it may be of its key assets, will “continue serving needs in whatever way it can” until a “commercial decision” will be taken once the new national airline is on its feet.

Malta MedAir’s balance sheet assets, according to its website, are an Airbus 320 and the daily take-off and landing rights at Heathrow and Gatwick. However, this might be outdated; last year, Aviation.Direct reported that the airline had taken delivery of its third aircraft.