Finance Minister again attempts to hide KM Malta chairman’s contract

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana is again attempting to hide the financial package he awarded the Executive Chairman of KM Malta Airlines, David Curmi, after he employed him despite his failure with Air Malta.

A Freedom Of Information (FOI) request filed by The Shift asking for David Curmi’s new contract at KM Malta Airlines was turned down twice by Clyde Caruana, who used the stock excuse that the information was “commercially sensitive”.

The finance minister, who was paying Curmi a record €21,500 a month at the now-defunct Air Malta, was asked to produce Curmi’s new remuneration package, particularly as a four-year wage freeze was imposed on all the other company employees, mostly transferred from Air Malta, as well as a reduction in what they used to earn at Air Malta.

The Shift has now asked the Commissioner for Data Protection to investigate the finance minister’s response.

Clyde Caruana’s second attempt

This is Caruana’s second attempt to hide what the government is paying David Curmi, who has no experience running an airline.

Last year, after repeatedly refusing to state Curmi’s remuneration at Air Malta, turning down FOI requests and parliamentary questions for 18 months, The Shift revealed that Curmi was being paid €21,500 a month or almost €775,000 over three years. During this time, the national carrier was declared bankrupt.

Later, The Shift also revealed that Caruana had misled parliament when he declared that Curmi was not receiving any other remuneration after it was revealed that he was collecting his €10,000-a-year honoraria as a board director.

Caruana was forced to apologise to parliament for his ‘oversight’ and said that he was misled by the information he obtained from Curmi.

Instead of acting against Curmi, mostly for failing to deliver on the most important task he was given in 2020 – the financial turnaround of Air Malta – Caruana still tasked the same chairman with leading the new state-sponsored Maltese airline.

During its first months, KM Malta Airlines has already been struggling financially, and many in the industry do not envisage a bright future for the new venture.

The airline was also recently hit by a scandal, revealed by The Shift. One of its pilots, Danica Theuma, was caught flying for another airline – Virgin Atlantic – while on the books of KM Malta, possibly in breach of contract and international safety rules.

While Virgin Atlantic immediately fired Theuma as soon as it got wind of what was happening, KM Malta Airlines still allowed Theuma to operate its flights.

Despite various reminders, David Curmi did not reply to The Shift’s questions asking for an explanation.