Mur Lura
SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE HON CENSU GALEA, MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS, AT THE "AIR TRANSPORT INDUSTRY" CONFERENCE – SLIEMA - 7TH DECEMBER, 2001
pr1860
07/12/2001
07/12/2001
| As the Minister responsible for Transport and Communications I could | only gladly accept the invitation by the Chartered Institute of Transport (Malta) to address this Conference. The number of conferences held in Malta, even those conferences that deal with highly specialised subjects such as Air Transport, to be held in Malta, is on the increase, and I would expect and hope that the participants will find this conference fruitful and beneficial. |
| Air transport today, is taken so much for granted | that it rarely makes the news except when some unfortunate disaster or accident takes place. This state of affairs indicates that air travel has reached such a high level of safety that people accept to travel by air as if they were using some other more traditional form of transport which has been accepted to be very safe, such as by ship or by rail. Even though at present the industry is passing through a difficult period, no one can forget that, the high level of safety achieved in air transport increased markedly with the advent of the modern jet aircraft especially after the mid sixties. However, the modern jet aircraft has brought about an increased level of safety. It has also made it possible to bring down passenger costs, thus giving start to the era of mass tourism and mass travel from the seventies onwards. |
| Air transport involves a multitude of activities, | which require substantial and sometimes massive investments both financially and in human resources. It has evolved into such an important industry that no country can afford not to devote to it the priority that it deserves. This industry provides for rapid and easy communication links with other countries. It also supports tourism and trade, which constitute the main economic activities of many countries. For Malta, air transport has become the dominant form of travel and it is undoubtedly one of the most essential industries because it serves and supports our tourism industry, which accounts for around 35% of Malta’s economy activity. This means of easy transport is extremely important when one remembers that we are an island, where land transport can only be used to serve our national needs, and is not able to provide for international connection. |
| Successive Maltese Governments after the last World | war realised the importance that air transport was acquiring and invested heavily in infrastructural works such as the construction of air terminals, runways and associated facilities and in the Maltese airline industry. Today Malta can boast of having an air transport industry which, although small in size, encompasses all types of activities ranging from aircraft to airport operations, aircraft maintenance and overhaul facilities, sales and marketing, air navigation services and aircraft refuelling. In turn such activities have provided a vast range of job opportunities for our workforce, who when given the appropriate training is capable of performing any task that is required of it. It also posed and continues to pose new challenges as the industry evolves and brings into use new technologies and new techniques and methods of working. It is vital that Malta keeps abreast of all these new developments in order to be able to continually renew and modernise its air transport industry, while succeeding to exploit situations which can generate more work and business. |
| At this point, I would like to emphasise the | developments and improvements that have taken place in Maltese Civil Aviation, over the past few years. Besides, continuing to be members of E.C.A.C and I.C.A.O., together with Eurocontrol, Malta has become a member of the J.A.A. and more recently, in October 1999, Malta was granted the F.A.A. Category 1. |
| These developments have made it possible for Malta to | establish itself as a well-equipped operator in this sector. Besides that, the relevance of this sector has now been accepted and appreciated internationally. |
| On the other hand, I believe that Aviation could | still provide for a much higher economic activity in the coming years. For this to happen, everyone involved has to be prepared to change further. |
| This conference comes at a time when Government has | just closed the Chapter on Transport in the negotiations for membership of the European Union. Part of these negotiations involved air transport, and I am sure that you will be hearing more on this matter during this conference, particularly on how European Union membership will affect air transport in Malta. |
| I will conclude by expressing my full support to the | organisers of this conference, which will provide participants with the opportunity to get more knowledge about air transport in general and Maltese air transport in particular. |
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