A comment by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi that he recalls the first Air Malta flights in 1974, three years before he was born, sparked comments by friends and foes on the social media.

In an interview on Il-Bizzilla, Air Malta’s inflight magazine, Dr Mizzi spoke about the national airline’s 45th anniversary, saying he still recalled the airline’s first flights.

“I still remember the day when Air Malta started its first flights in 1974, with scheduled services to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris and Tripoli,” he said.

The comment prompted a number of memes poking fun at the minister. 

Political rival Peter Agius, a Nationalist candidate for next month’s MEP elections, was quick to post a screenshot of the interview on Facebook, pointing out that Dr Mizzi was born in November 1977.

Striking a parallel to the controversies, the minister was involved in throughout his political career, Dr Agius commented tongue in cheek: “My parents always taught me that whoever lies on something insignificant also lies on much more serious things.”

This post prompted reactions by both admirers and critics of the minister.

Questions sent to the Tourism Ministry remained unanswered at the time of writing.