It’s all a Matter of Respect

Maltese nationals will not know whether the airline they fly between foreign countries would be deemed as safe or not by Maltese authorities, unless a Europe-wide airline blacklist is published later this year. This happens as civil aviation sources told The Times of Malta yesterday that Malta does not intend to publish its own blacklist for national use - a decision that smells of disrespect towards the Maltese consumer.

Even though Maltese civil aviation authorities do carry out their job quite efficiently in determining the safety levels of an airline flying to and from Malta, they seem not interested as to whether help Maltese citizens make informed decisions on which airline to choose when flying between two non-Maltese airports. Therefore Maltese citizens may be exposed to unnecessary safety risks when travelling.

It seems that authorities fail to understand that the principle of freedom of movement does not only mean the possibility to travel from Malta to another country but also an increased chance to travel between third countries, say for example from Luxembourg to Stockholm. This means that the relevant authorities are to extend their concern away from our jurisdiction and make sure Maltese citizens are safe as they travel.

Therefore an airline blacklist is no privilege but a necessary document which respects the right of information which consumers are entitled to. Furthermore it ensures that Maltese citizens are safe when they travel, all the time, anywhere they are.

This is why all parties concerned with this issue - starting from consumer rights associations - are to exert pressure on the authorities in order to publish the national blacklist showing which airlines do not have a good safety record according to Maltese authorities.

In the meantime Maltese civil society is to continue lobbying in favour of the Europe-wide blacklist which the Commission is proposing. Malta, which controls a significantly large airspace when compared to its size, has an interest in taking a pro-active stand – and not a ‘rubber-stamp attitude’ - in this debate as the wellbeing of every passenger crossing our airspace is to be ensured at all times.

All actions taken are to come out of respect towards the consumer and a clear priority to preserve high safety standards during travel. After all, consumers are all human beings whose life is to be preserved at all costs.