Air Malta makes 108 pilots redundant after union refuses pay cut

Air Malta was yesterday reported to have taken the unprecedented step to make 108 pilots from its staff of 134 redundant, after the Airline Pilots Association refused to take a radical pay cut of €1,200 a month due to the coronavirus grounding all flights.

Pilots were refusing to accede to the pay cut, claiming their salaries had already been cut by 30% due to reduced flying hours affecting their performance-based pay. “Reducing our salaries will not solve anything for the airline. Management should be cutting down on third-party commitments... we should discuss airline leases. We want the satisfaction that we can be partners at the same table to discuss the airline’s restructuring if we are to endure wage cuts,” ALPA spokesperson Dominic Azzopardi told MaltaToday.

Pilots’ average gross salaries are €140,000 for captains, and €80,000 for first officers. Even without flying, pilots are left with substantial salaries that do not reflect the state of the shuttered airline right now.

The effects of the redundancies will be radical for the airline, due to legal obligations safeguarding pilots’ salaries in generous collective agreements they negotiated in the last years.

Dominic Azzopardi told The Times he was left speechless at the decision. “Employees are the ones who will be bearing the brunt of the situation by the looks of it.”

Air Malta is facing a zero-revenue situation, as all flights are grounded except those for crucial cargo. The Union of Cabin Crew has so far resisted the €1,200 monthly salary offer.