Air Malta (KM, Malta International) is planning to outsource some of its in-house operations in order to help cut costs. Air Malta is currently in early talks with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) equity partner, Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino), which, if successful, could lead to the Italians acquiring a 49% stake in the Maltese carrier.

As such, in the event a deal is brokered, airline sources who spoke to The Times of Malta on condition of anonymity said among the departments management would hive off initially are engineering and ground-handling. However, other areas have not been excluded and are also under review.

“Through this model, the company will not need to keep a 24/7 engineering and ground-handling operation independent of seasonality and the volume of work. The carrier will be able to ‘hire-on-demand’ according to specific requirements,” the sources said.

The sources added that affected full-time Air Malta staff would not be laid off but instead, would be transferred to a yet-unnamed government entity which would provide the requisite services albeit as a private sector-based consortium.

Alitalia expects to complete its due diligence of Air Malta's operations by the end of July, following which both carriers' boards will make a decision on whether to proceed with an undertaking.