It is very indicative that the puppet master within the office of the Prime Minister has lost control of the situation as well as his minions. He has not only lost the plot in matters that are beyond his competence, but he has completely underestimated the digital age. My bet is he is hitting the bottle heavily too.

In recent years, Etihad has bought stakes in Air Berlin, Alitalia, Air Serbia, Darwin Airline (Swiss), Virgin Australia, Jet Airways (Indian) and Air Seychelles. It did not do so lightly but reportedly spent years scrutinising them before making its investments. Those airlines were struggling, Alitalia mightily so, but Etihad saw potential in them. Air Malta would fit Etihad’s recent expansion model (buying small European airlines) well.

This leads me to believe that if Etihad was interested in Air Malta and isn’t anymore, it’s because Air Malta is in a disastrous state or because it has low growth potential.

The fact that the HNA Group is interested is not very comforting. China’s expansion abroad is a response to its own flagging economy and is fuelled by insane, and quite possibly unsustainable, amounts of debt. Moreover, the HNA Group has virtually no experience in the European airline market.

It is no wonder that Edward Zammit Lewis and his crew have been running around like headless chickens trying to hawk Air Malta to anyone who seems half interested. If I were an Air Malta employee, I would be very worried right now.

The statements made by Etihad and by the Maltese government insiders are very unusual (you don’t just issue a blatant lie about a large company like that). They mask a sense of panic, confusion and maybe complete chaos as deals they thought they had wrapped up unravel before their eyes.