National airline, pilots reach late night deal
Air Malta and the Airline Pilots’ Association (ALPA) reached a deal on the new collective agreement late last night, during last-ditch talks that were held amid threats of a strike. In a tweet, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the airline and ALPA have “reached a mutually satisfactory agreement enabling company to move ahead and become the Airline of the Mediterranean. Pilots now need to formally endorse in new vote.”
The PM congratulated Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and president emeritus George Abela, who was mediating between Air Malta and the unions.
ALPA was the last union to sign the new collective agreement and pilots were threatening to go on strike. Air Malta had already leased six aircraft so as to be able to continue with operations in the eventuality of a strike.
Two of those aircraft arrived in Malta yesterday evening. Konrad Mizzi tweeted: “After meeting again at the Ministry for Tourism, @MaltaGov, @AirMalta negotiating team and ALPA have reached an agreement on a collective agreement to be put forward and approved by pilots in the coming days.”
On Sunday, Air Malta said it had filed an urgent warrant of prohibitory injunction in the courts of law, holding the union responsible for damages any action could cause.
The airline said that a conflict arose between the chief officer of flight operations and the publications officer, both pilots, after the former asked the latter for flight manuals, but the request was refused. The airline said on Sunday that these documents are the property of the airline and fall under the exclusive responsibility of the Chief Officer Flight Operations.
“The airline took note of the altercation between the two without escalating the matter further. In the most surprising way, ALPA today (Sunday) held a meeting for its members (and) moved a motion contemplating industrial action against the airline, including the stopping of services provided by the captains and first officers,” the airline said on Sunday.
The motion was approved and a few minutes later the airline received a written note of an industrial dispute, which could include industrial action.
“The episode mentioned earlier does not fall under the category of ‘industrial dispute’ and so no industrial action may be taken based on this particular episode, the airline said on Sunday.
Air Malta then filed for an injunction, with the request being provisionally upheld yesterday by Mr Justice Toni Abela .
Air Malta statement
In a statement yesterday, Air Malta said that in view of the industrial action threat issued by ALPA, all services, including its flights, are operating normally. “No direct disruptions are expected in the next two days; however, if any industrial action is taken, arrangements have been made to minimise its effect on passengers and protect Air Malta’s flight schedule.”
“Air Malta will continue to maintain its commitment to its guests and will do its utmost to guarantee the best possible service and least possible inconvenience to its clients in case any strike action materialises. Air Malta’s website www.airmalta.com, together with its social media channels including www.facebook.com/AirMalta will be updated with the latest developments and any changes.”
FATTA reaction
In a statement, the Federated Association of Travel & Tourism Agents (FATTA) said that travel and tourism agents are extremely concerned with the current situation at Air Malta, especially in the light of recent statements reported in the media regarding the airline’s future following the stalemate in the ongoing the dispute with the pilots’ union.
“Notwithstanding its dubious future, Air Malta continues to aggressively promote early bookings, collecting the full airfare and applicable taxes in advance from travel agents and consumers alike for travel as far ahead as December 2018.”
FATTA said that serious concern arises from travel and tourism agents’ own obligations to contribute to a fund to protect consumers against insolvency. Airlines are not obliged to contribute to this fund and the fund does not therefore cover airline’s insolvency.
FATTA president Iain Tonna said that “package travel operators will face serious financial difficulties, possibly resulting in the insolvency, should Air Malta cease trading without the operators being able to recover payments made to the airline in advance. The insolvency of any package operator will trigger claims on the fund as a direct result of the airline’s failure.”
He said “only a clear pronouncement by the government will alleviate the concerns of agents and consumers alike. Without this, it will only be natural for agents and consumers to avoid booking and paying for flights well in advance. It would be unreasonable to expect travel agents or consumers to carry the risk and responsibility for a situation they have no control over.”
FATTA therefore calls on the government, in its capacity as the shareholder of Air Malta plc, to guarantee a full refund of any airline tickets and taxes which the airline is unable to honour in the event that it is declared insolvent or otherwise ceases trading.
MHRA calls for “cooling off” period
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) expressed alarm at the escalation of the industrial dispute at Air Malta and the threat of industrial action voted in favour by nearly all the ALPA union members.
“MHRA has noted with satisfaction that the new strategy adopted by Air Malta would lead, in the near future, to the airline expanding its operations, therefore its fleet and its opportunities. MHRA truly believes that Air Malta could, with a good business plan, truly become the airline of the Mediterranean.”
“MHRA are concerned that the escalation of events could result in a disruption of service and is therefore calling on all parties to the dispute to find a solution round the negotiating table.”
“If necessary, ALPA and the company can bring in a mediator to help resolve the issues. MHRA notes that any disruption of service will create considerable inconvenience to travellers, if not outright cancellation of bookings to and from Malta, and would cause enormous damage to the industry, which has been investing tens of millions of euros in improving its infrastructure and product.”
“While MHRA accepts that every union has a right to fight for its rights – and we accept that ALPA and its members have this right – MHRA also acknowledges that there are the thousands of employees that work in the tourism industry and the economy at large that also have rights and that must be taken into consideration. Given its critical importance to the tourism industry and the economy, a disruption of service will have a major economic impact and lead to the hardship of thousands of employees, which must be avoided at all cost. It is for this reason the MHRA calls for a cooling off period and an early resolution to the dispute.”