Air Malta's latest plane.
Updated 7.45pm
Air Malta pilots have been instructed not to operate flights on the airline's most recent aircraft, with their union unhappy that the plane does not allow pilots to delete recordings of cockpit conversations once they have landed safely.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, Air Malta said that it had received notification of the Airline Pilots Association industrial action just 22 minutes before a flight meant to be operated by its 9H-AHS aircraft was due to depart.
The "disproportionate" decision would end up costing Air Malta more than €180,000 in compensation to passengers and related charges, the airline said.
As of 5pm, an Air Malta flight to Catania was delayed by nine hours.
Prohibitory injunction
The airline later said that it was filing a warrant of prohibitory injunction against ALPA for having breached its collective agreement.
ALPA and Air Malta had agreed on a new collective agreement just months ago, following a heated stand-off between the pilots' union and airline.
The pilots' union is unhappy that the leased plane, which Air Malta added to its fleet last week, does not allow pilots to delete recordings of cockpit conversations at the end of uneventful flights.
The union is arguing that this amounts to a breach of its collective agreement.
Air Malta disagrees, and in its statement called pilots' action a "flagrant breach" of the collective agreement designed to "disrupt the holiday plans of several Maltese and tourists who were travelling on this long weekend."
It said that it has now made arrangements with Airbus, the plane manufacturer, to reinstall the "needless functionality" allowing pilots to delete recordings of cockpit conversations.
The airline said that it would be doing its utmost to minimise inconveniences, but urged passengers to check and its social media channels for more information on flight schedule changes.
PD calls on CAA to intervene
Partit Demokratiku suggested that the dispute be resolved by the Civil Aviation Authority, and called on both sides to abide by whatever it decided.
"Whilst PD understands the wish for some privacy on the pilots side, the absolute primacy of flight safety cannot be ignored," the party said in a statement issued on Friday evening.