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All Ministers, parliamentary secretaries and top civil servants that use Air Malta on government work are able to benefit personally from the airline’s frequent flyer scheme, MaltaToday has learned.
Although Malta’s representatives use the national airline, paid for by our taxes, the airline’s frequent flyer scheme accrues to the individual and comes in handy when the officials decide to go on holiday.
While the government promises to be transparent and accountable, government officials were tight-lipped when confronted with questions sent to them by this newspaper on the matter.
Several civil servants travel up to twenty times a year as part of their job, sometimes paid for by tax-payers money and sometimes paid for by the EU but always on government related work. When they fly with Air Malta they gain frequent flyer points in Air Malta’s Flypass scheme which they then use for their personal holidays. MaltaToday is informed that in some instances the points are passed on to the families of the civil servants.
When MaltaToday asked Air Malta whether it’s system is ideal the reply was: “In response to your questions please note that we feel it is not ethical for us to comment on our clients.”
Pressed to explain its system Air Malta would not reply. Not so tight-lipped was Prime Minister’s Communications Co-ordinator Alan Camilleri who told MaltaToday: “Government and AirMalta, at this point in time, have a standing arrangement that government officials travelling on official duties have their Air Malta trips discounted by 50 percent.
“The Frequent Flyer Programme (FlyPass) is a personal programme relating to the individual and Air Malta. Naturally, government does not in any way interfere in
private matters of its employees.”
When MaltaToday asked Camilleri whether it was correct that government officials, including ministers and parliamentary secretaries, travel on government related work - even if paid for by the EU - and fly Air Malta accumulating Flypass points in their name and used the points to go on holiday, the reply was: “I cannot confirm your statement and neither could I give a reply since Flypass is a programme on a personal and not corporate basis.”
MaltaToday insisted with Camilleri that it wanted to know how often certain government officials fly on government related work, but Camilleri told MaltaToday that that information could not be made public.
MaltaToday asked MEPA, which continually sends employees abroad on official work, but no reply was received at the time of going to press. Certain officials within the previous department for the environment which has since become MEPA’s environment directorate, including its head, were known to be nearly always abroad on official business.
The National Audit Office and the Internal Audit Investigative Directorate are the government’s arm to ensure that government entities manage their resources efficiently. The mission statement of the NAO is to “help promote accountability, propriety and best practices in government operations,” and that of the IAID is to “assist Ministries to better manage their resources by carrying out audits.”
When MaltaToday put questions to IAID director about his directorate, it was referred to the Prime Minister’s office. When MaltaToday contacted the Prime Minister’s office it was told: “Regarding the issue of travel abroad done by the Director of IAID, I believe it is not ethical to provide you with travel details on individual civil servants.”
MaltaToday is informed that the IAID director is one of the ones that travels most frequently and has clocked up to 17 trips in one calendar year.
It is not known whether government officials benefiting from the frequent flyer scheme include the value of their holidays as fringe benefits in their income tax returns.
Frequent Flyer schemes have often come under attack abroad and George Williams in his book ‘The airline Industry and the impact of deregulation’ writes: “The primary aim (of frequent flyer programmes) was to attract passengers travelling frequently on business who, given that their companies were footing the bill, usually had no personal incentive to economise on air travel.
“A strong vested interest existed for such customers both to trade up and to undertake more journeys than would be strictly warranted. As a consequence, such travellers were highly important to airlines as they generated a disproportionately large amount of revenue.”
Airline expert Alan Beaver, however, writes: “companies have felt that the benefits of Frequent Flyer Programmes belong to them, rather than to the individual employees and some airlines are reacting to the pressure.”
Air France, Virgin airlines and US organisation Frequent Flyer Service have taken steps to change the system. Virgin grants frequent flyer points to companies as well as to individuals.
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