RJs’ inquiry was never concluded

An inquiry ordered by Air Malta’s board of directors in 1997 into the purchase of the beleaguered RJ70s’ fleet was never concluded, The Sunday Times has learnt. Former Judge Godwin Muscat Azzopardi, who was entrusted with the inquiry, confirmed he had never completed the investigation assigned to him in March 1997 as “something had happened in the meantime”. The purchase of the Avro RJs left Air Malta with millions of euros in losses. The decision is often described as one of the national airline’s biggest strategic errors. The inquiry was meant to establish the identity of management officials who had omitted a crucial guarantee in the purchase of the RJs fleet, which would have significantly diluted Air Malta’s risk. The issue was revived a few weeks ago by Richard Cachia Caruana – a former member of Air Malta’s Board of Directors. Judge Muscat Azzopardi confirmed, when asked, that someone from Air Malta had instructed him to stop this inquiry but said he could not remember his identity and why. “I had received a notification to do this inquiry, but something had happened in the meantime and the inquiry was never concluded. “So much time has passed since then and I don’t recall...