Air Malta to sell airport slots to new gov't-run company

VALLETTA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Air Malta, the Maltese national airline, will be selling its slots at major European airports to a new government-run company, the government said on Wednesday.

It said the company, Malta Air Travel Limited, was incorporated with an authorised share capital of 70 million euros and would have an air operating certificate (AOC).

"Concurrently, the new company, which is wholly government-owned, is undertaking to enter into a lease agreement so that the same slots will continue to be operated by Air Malta at an agreed commercial fee for a long-term period," said the government in a statement.

It said the strategy was part of the government's objective to transform Air Malta into the airline of the Mediterranean. Enditem