The newest junior minister in Prime Minister Robert Abela’s Cabinet, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett, is continuing to ruffle feathers – not through his work but because of incidents involving his conduct on private holidays.
Just a few days after being exposed as having used his official taxpayer-funded car to take his family on holiday to Sicily, Bonett has once again found himself at the brunt of complaints, this time from fellow passengers on an Air Malta flight.
On Wednesday 7 December, the eve of a public holiday, passengers on board KM 116 waiting to depart for London were told to vacate the pre-booked seats they had paid for in advance. They were instead given other seats in different sections of the flight’s economy class.
When asked for the reason behind the manoeuvres, Air Malta staff told relocated passengers they had been given instructions to change the pre-booked seating arrangement to make way for “a VIP” who would be boarding the flight.
To their surprise, the seething passengers realised their original seats had been reassigned to Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Chris Bonett and his family.
With passengers protesting about the situation, which affected around 10 of them who had to change seats to accommodate Bonett, Air Malta staff told aggrieved passengers the junior minister had insisted that his family all be seated in the same row.
In a social media post about the incident, independent political candidate Arnold Cassola, who also received the same information, said questions he sent to Air Malta about the incident were never answered.
One passenger who was on the flight remarked, “This sheer arrogance is even worse as Bonett was traveling on a holiday and not on some government business. If he wanted to be comfortable, he should have paid business class for his family, as he does when he travels on the government’s expense for some conference or other.”
Bonett’s latest incident comes shortly after his trip to Sicily with his ministerial BMW was revealed by The Shift.
While Cassola has already asked the Standards Commissioner to investigate that trip, Bonett has so far refused to reply to questions about who paid for his catamaran tickets and the fuel costs when he used his official government-assigned vehicle for his family vacation in Sicily.
Known for his staunch loyalty to Prime Minister Robert Abela, Bonett had already made headlines before he entered Parliament last March.
In 2017, when placed by former disgraced prime minister Joseph Muscat as acting SportsMalta CEO, Bonett issued some €14 million in direct orders for the development of the Ta’ Kandja shooting range. The NAO had singled out his actions for criticism but failed to mention him by name.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of those direct orders was construction magnate Bonnici Brothers, which, incidentally, happens to have been a client of Abela’s private law firm. The Prime Minister was also in business with the company’s managing director.
OHSA has no idea of how many tower cranes are operating in Malta
‘Tal-Bamboċċu’ demands payment from developers over Jerma Palace deal
Prime minister cites new excuse to keep asset declarations secret
Opinion: Debt rising, truth falling – Caruana’s misleading claims
Sign up to our newsletter Stay in the know
"*" indicates required fields
Related News
OHSA has no idea of how many tower cranes are operating in Malta
‘Tal-Bamboċċu’ demands payment from developers over Jerma Palace deal
Prime minister cites new excuse to keep asset declarations secret
Opinion: Debt rising, truth falling – Caruana’s misleading claims
Embarrassment as Malta fails to reach European higher-education standards
Health minister’s former trainee sits on FMS board that employs him
Authorities consider changes to planning rules to override court decision on Ta’ Xbiex restaurant
Payments to failed €55 million project contractor kept under wraps
Opinion: Byron Camilleri’s mess
Tax chief fails to fill €29,000 legal role, hands €78,000 contract to former minister
Bunkering association calls for observation of rules among Maltese players
We are still a monarchy made up of arrogant pricks.
This is the problem of a stupid airline and a minister who is well above his true status, no wonder Air Malta is doomed
My questions are:
Did he actually pay for the flight out of his own money?
Did he pay for 1st class out of his own money?
Did the passengers receive compensation?
How much was it?
Has the ‘gentleman’ apologized for his actions?
By what right did Air Malta intervene here?
What has been done so that legal clarity is created here?
If no stop is put here, then this arrogant fop will possibly book a whole plane next time (Look at Joseph Muscat!) of course, at the expense of the taxpayers and not the Partit Laburista.
It is simply shameful for the whole of Malta.
The arrogance of this person is unbelievable!!!
Who does he think he is, a simple PS what a big head !!
In Europe, there are about 100 mayors whose cities have more inhabitants than the whole of Malta.
Has anyone heard anything comparable from them?
I suspect not. Because they have some decency.
“Zulu minn hemm halli npoggi jien”
Hekk jaghmel min m’ghandu l-ebda rispett lejn l-ohrajn. hux veru!
min qatt ma libes qalziet, meta libsu h-r- fih. I would have never changed my seat for a troll. shame on you bonnet. Mur gibu flok Dr. metsola jew David Casa – nahseb li kien jikri arjuplan. Il-qziez ma jaghmolx nies. Arroganzq tal -muvument korrott.
Kulhadd jirkeb fuq l-injoranza u l-inazzjoni tal-poplu. Dan il-poplu jgib din l-arroganza b’idejh stess, ghax fl-elezzjoni minflok ma jarmi l-imbarazz, jivvotalu bil-kbir biex ikun jista’ jgawdi l-laqx ta’ mal-art. Enjoy your ego trip whilst u can.
Daqs kemm kibritku rasu kif irnexxielu idahhalha fl-ajruplan?
There are rules for the gods and rules for us peasants!!!
Arrogance galore. This is the Malta that we have to live in a try to have a decent quality of life.
The best in the EU.
This is arrogance of the highest level.
Disgusting arrogant behavior. Shame on airline to accommodate and give in to such requests.
I would have just refused to move unless I was convinced it was for security or emergency reasons. I find many people spineless.
Dan l arroganti fakkarni x kien qalli darba in nannu alja jahfirlu xi 50 sena ilu. Kien qalli li meta kien inqabat suldat bil lieva u kien qieghed jistrieh fuq sodda tal hadid baxxa kien gie sulfad ingliz tah daqqa ta sieq biex qajmu min hemm halli ipoggi hu. Min dak in nhar meta beda jara ingliz QATT ma hamillhom izjed. Dan il bahbuh li haseb li lahaq xi ALLA ghalkemm ma tax bis sieq hekk beda jara NIES DUBBIEN CAPCAP GAHAN MEQ MEQ
Airmalta hello some answers? Your Airmalta , GWU employees answers? Airmalta chairman hu pacenzja saqsi naqra ix xih li taf ? Disgusting who the hell do you think you are !!!
Kont inzabbab mhux incedilu posti bi dritt!
eeh missieru qalilna li Socalista ferventi u jemmen u jipprattika is-socjalizmu.Wiehed mir-Renjanti godda.
His self importance and his sense of entitlement and Impunity are gross just like him. He is a fantastic example of how gross our MPs are and yet he is ONLY a junior minister so just think what his mentors and seniors are like?
And are held to account unlike this animal farm
I would have never given up my seat unless for a humanitarian reason and more so if I am not told beforehand the reason why I am being told to do so.
I tell you what happened.
The PS was booked as a VIP…but the new Clyde Caruana ground handling company forgot to fit him in the flight planner.
This effected the whole seat mapping and had change seats last minute.
Prosit Clyde ?? kakkata ohra minn tieghek.
Arroganza liema bhala!
PASTAZ GRASS!!
Arrogance at it’s worst! Join Labour and your head and your wallet get bigger. Three cheers to the Maltese voter, hip hip gahan, hip hip gahan, hip hip gahan!
What gentleman?
This a***hole and his family make my blood boil, and the people that gave up their seats are a bunch of chickens! Why didn?t they together refuse to move!
Dan il bicca segretarju parlamentari veru qieghed tajjeb miskin. Jonqsu tikbirlu rasu ftit iehor dan il-gidra, halli hu diga sproporzjonat, u b?dan il-qziez ikompli jisproporzjona ruhu.
If a bottom feeder in the corruption food chain feels he can act like this with complete impunity and lack of self-control, what can the top echelons get away with? Murder?? as the idiom goes.
Min jghola hafna tisbita kbira jiehu – harsu lejn l-akbar pm korrott fl-istorja ta Malta xi gralu; injoranza u hmieg jirrenjaw f’mafiamalta.
Question: if you bought and paid for a particular seat can you refuse to move unless it’s for safety/emergency reasons? Does some fine print in the T & C’s give AirMalta the right to move you? Also, does a PS get VIP status because he is a PS? What can an average citizen do apart from creating a ruckus and shaming on social media? Is there some body within the PL or Parliament who sanctions the member for this abysmal behaviour. Can AirMalta be fined for acceding to the PS’s request or was he and they, within their rights? Anybody here with some real answers NOT opinions please?
And responsible for EU funds?
Wish I was one of those asked to move. The term INZABBBAB springs to mind ?..
Ghax Laboristi bla kukki
Yet another reason not to fly with KM in the future. May their demise be quick.