‘Mr Fearne I want my freedom back!’ MHRA boss will not take fourth jab

The country should really get its act together on COVID-19 mitigating measures because people and businesses have had enough of having their freedoms and liberty curtailed, the head of the hospitality lobby told Business Today.

An irate Tony Zahra, president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, said that the harsh measures imposed by the authorities to control the spread of COVID-19 had left Malta struggling to catch up with its southern European neighbours.

He said that figures published this week by Malta International Airport clearly showed that the harsh measures and travel restrictions Malta adopted during the pandemic had left the country lacking behind Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal.

2,540,335 passengers travelled through MIA last year. This reflects an increase of 45.3 per cent over 2020 figures but marks a recovery of just 34.8% of 2019 passenger numbers.

Zahra said Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne was wrong to suggest that further studies and evaluation would be necessary before the government reeavluate its position on the mitigating measures.

“This is not on,” he said. “People have sacrificed everything and have even had freedoms taken away. Now he wants to do more studies? Enough is enough I say!”

Zahra said that, like many other people, he has now had enough and vowed he would not take a fourth booster jab, even if mandated by the authorities.

“Vulnerable people should decide for themselves whether they want to live a normal- and face some risk - or to stay cooped up inside indefinitely,” he said. “We are all adults, and we have all had enough.”

Zahra said that Fearne’s hint at further possible measures was uncalled for and insisted that people could not be expected to remain home indefinitely.

He said that if someone feels threatened in the circumstances, they can stay at home if they want.

But people also want - and need - to get on with their lives, he said.

“Mr Fearne, I want my freedom back!” he said. “This is not on anymore.”

Post-COVID strategy

In a statement on Tuesday, MIA CEO Alan Borg said that the instant impact on air travel of the introduction of tighter restrictions towards the end of 2021, had once again highlighted the fact that the tourism industry’s recovery remains at the mercy of how governments respond to the changing epidemiological situation.

“The introduction of stricter and uneven entry requirements across Europe at the end of 2021 has already led to the cancellation of around 850 flights for the first quarter of 2022,” he said.

Borg acknowledged the local authorities’ efforts in putting Malta in the lead in relation to vaccination coverage.

But he went on to urge government to now shift its focus on publishing a post-COVID strategy, which would give the industry confidence to invest in businesses, thus contributing to an enhanced tourism offering and increasing the island’s competitive edge.

Fierce competition

The number of passengers who travelled through MIA in 2021 reflected a 45.3% over 2020 figures, but marked a recovery of only 34.8% of 2019 passenger numbers.

The top drivers of traffic for the year were Italy and the United Kingdom, both of which enjoyed a 19% market share, followed by Germany, France and Poland.

A look at Malta International Airport’s monthly traffic performance shows that after the first half of the year, air travel started to gain momentum on the back of increased stability and an improvement in consumer confidence, with passenger movements for the third quarter of 2021 more than tripling over the previous quarter.

October, which saw Southern European airports register improved passenger traffic results, was Malta International Airport’s best-performing month with more than 428,000 passenger movements recorded.

This can be attributed to a delayed peak in the demand for leisure travel spurred by the easing of travel requirements as the year progressed, up until the emergence of a new virus strain in November 2021.

Borg said that summer 2022 is expected to be characterised by fiercer competition among similar destinations, particularly as vaccination uptake across Europe continues to increase.

Data released by Airports Council International shows that at 33.5 per cent, Malta’s recovery for the period between January and November 2021 still lagged behind that of Southern European peers such as Greece (52.5%), Cyprus (44.3 per cent), Spain (41.7%), and Portugal (40.3%), despite Malta International Airport’s success in retaining more than 70% of its connections for 2019 throughout the year under review.