Various sectors of the Maltese economy registered substantial financial losses as a result of the four-day strike ordered by the Transport Federation, especially the tourism sector, which registered losses running into hundreds of thousands of Euros, industry sources told MaltaToday.
Federation of Industry (FOI) Director-General Ray Muscat said many industries were affected by the delays caused by the blockage of the country’s main arteries during the three days of the strike.
“For instance, vans carrying perishable goods which went sour, and ready-mix trucks loaded with concrete which became unusable as a result of the delays, led to substantial financial losses to the respective owners as a result of the strike,” Muscat told MaltaToday.
Both the Malta Employers’ Association and the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise said it was very difficult to quantify the losses incurred by his members.
MEA Director-General Joseph Farrugia said it was difficult to give to give an exact figure “because it affected all sectors simultaneously and also because some of the cost implications are indirect. For example, how can one cost the effect of Malta’s image as a tourist destination? What is certain is that if one considers the lost production, loss in sales and also the indirect costs, the damages will definitely run into millions of euros.”
Farrugia said the retail sector was affected by a sharp drop in sales: “Many people opted to stay indoors rather than face the abuse of the transport workers, or the traffic congestion which resulted from the action.”
In the tourism sector, which is currently in the peak season, losses for all the players connected with the industry were huge. A spokesperson for national airline Air Malta said: “During the four days of the strike the airline experienced a heavy slowdown in bookings since demand was halved. Now that the strike is over the airline is expecting that the booking situation returns to normal levels,” the airline spokesperson told MaltaToday.
“To minimise the inconvenience Air Malta assisted passengers booked on low cost and other airlines who missed their flights due to the blockage of roads, arranging airline flight arrangements free of charge to all those affected by the traffic delay even though they were not Air Malta passengers.”
Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents – Malta (FATTA) President Iain Tonna, which represents travel agencies and tour operators, said that its members lost hundreds of thousands of euros.
“The immediate losses are a made up of lost sales revenue (due to our inability to organize local excursions for our clients for several days), additional costs (incurred due to having to provide alternative transportation services to arriving and departing clients), additional manpower costs (incurred due to having several staff working overtime to cope with the problems) and actual physical costs (caused by violent damage against the property of members),” Tonna told MaltaToday.
“We are also expecting to receive a deluge of claims for compensation for ruined holidays (under the EU Package Travel Directive regulations) from the tens of thousands of tourists who were inconvenienced by our inability to provide our normal services,” the FATTA President warned.
FATTA has already filed a judicial protest against the Transport Federation and its leaders on behalf of its members for lost revenue as a result of the four-day stoppage of all public transport in Malta.
The English-language schools were also hit heavily by the transport strike, with Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations – Malta (FELTOM) President Andrew Mangion estimating that on Tuesday, the transport strike cost the EFL industry “in excess of 100,000 Euros”, as the organization was still calculating the total impact of the industrial actions on the industry over the four days of the strike.
Many schools had to cancel pre-booked and pre-paid tours and excursions to Malta’s places of interest, while schools were been unable to provide transport for students who were living some distance from their place of learning.
“The image of the industry has been affected internationally with some clients and agents showing concern for student safety for the way this illegal strike escalated into violence,” Mangion told MaltaToday.

czahra@mediatoday.com.mt