The car rental firms running from the Malta International Airport may have to bear burden of huge amounts of fees if they choose to carry on making use of the parking lot their vehicle parking needs.
The airport's operator, a private company, is asking the firms for a sum of €267,878 as annual fee for using the parking lot from where passengers used to collect their rental vehicles after their arrival in Malta.
Owners of the companies running their car rental business from the airport were told about the increase in the parking lot rent at the annual meeting of the Rent a Car Association (RACA).
The secretary general, Dr. Emmanuel Mallia told the owners that the rent on the 182-car lot would go up by almost 2,200 percent.
The association has paid only €11,647 per annum until 2007, as the facility was owned by the government. But, now, the airport is owned by a private operator and things are totally different.
The airport operator is now asking for the rent for three years in advance, a total of €803,634.
The parking lot at the airport allows car rental firms to offer a high level of service to their clients, as the rental vehicles can be collected just outside the airport. It also allows drivers to park their cars conveniently before catching their flights.
However, no decision has been made yet by the RACA on this issue.
