In July 2021, language schools in Malta were closed by order of the government. A total of 579 mostly minors were flown to their homeland on five special flights. The Mediterranean state spent around 300.000 euros on this.
The Times of Malta newspaper reports that the charter flights to Spain via Germany and France on July 19 and 20, 2021 cost 112.658 euros. The operating carrier was the state-owned Malta MedAir. The French ASL Airlines flew students who tested positive for Covid-19 back to Spain and France at a price of 80.000 euros. Neos carried out a return flight to Italy at a price of 100.000 euros. The above amounts have been confirmed by the Maltese Ministry of Tourism, which organized and ordered the special flights.
The costs were paid with taxpayers' money, so that the mostly minors or their parents did not incur any additional expenses. The government justified the closure of the language schools with rising corona infections and is quite controversial on the Maltese islands.
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