Air Malta: Malta shuts down national airline, opens new one

VALLETTA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Malta's national airline, Air Malta, ceased operations on Saturday, 50 years after its first flight, making way for a new flag carrier that starts flying on Sunday. Air Malta began operations in 1974 but eventually became loss-making, forcing successive governments to implement measures to stop the hemorrhage. The decision to shut down the debt-ridden airline came last year