Editorial | Spoilt pilots ditching a country

Air Malta pilots are currently obeying their union’s work-to-rule directive as part of what appears to be covert industrial action.

We use the word ‘covert’ because according to Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, the union never informed the airline’s management that it had an industrial dispute.

Management only learnt of the directive given by the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) after attempts to replace four pilots who reported sick drew unusual blanks. The 25 pilots contacted to replace them, all replied that they did not want to go against their union, resulting in several delays.

Caruana did not mince his words in calling ALPA’s attitude “irresponsible” at such a crucial stage of discussions with the European Commission.

Even the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) called on ALPA to be responsible and halt the work-to-rule directive at a time when tourism is recovering after two years of hardship.

Air Malta remains an important cog in the tourism sector and a strategic asset in an island economy that can only depend on air and sea links for its external communication.

The government’s attempts to save the airline – hence the state aid discussions with the European Commission – are commendable. Malta cannot do without a national airline.

But achieving some form of closure on Air Malta is not going to be easy. The airline was losing money despite two previous attempts to save it from ruin that cost public coffers millions of euros in investment.

And any agreement reached with Brussels will mean more millions of Maltese taxpayer euros will be pumped into the airline to strengthen its balance sheet.

The truth is that Air Malta’s pilots have been mollycoddled for far too long by various administrations.

In 2018, then tourism minister Konrad Mizzi signed a side agreement with pilots that shockingly guaranteed them a government job at the same take-home pay if they were made redundant.

Pilots have always held the airline at ransom because they know that replacing them is not easy and every administration has bent over backwards to accommodate them.

Now, these spoilt pilots are intent on ditching not only the airline but also the country. Their behaviour is not only irresponsible but downright criminal.

We are not talking here of a cohort of workers fighting to improve their conditions and pay; what we have is a group of professionals enjoying pay packets commensurate with the job they are expected to do and in line with what could be expected from a struggling airline the size and scope of Air Malta. Indeed, they enjoy conditions their counterparts elsewhere would not even dream of.

The MHRA was right in warning pilots on the consequences of their actions in view of the work being done by government and other stakeholders to ensure the airline remains afloat.

“This however does not give the right to anyone who disagrees with how this has to be done to cause further damage to the wider economy and to the same people who ultimately are paying the taxes for Air Malta to keep going,” the MHRA said.

Air Malta is a wounded bird and the disruptive action undertaken by pilots simply adds to these woes. They could very well be killing off the goose that lays the golden egg – at least in their regard.

But then again, pilots may give two hoots about the impact of their actions on the airline and the country because they know there is a side agreement they can rely on for compensation.

Government must not give in and use all legal means at its disposal to ensure the airline continues operating without hiccups until a deal is reached with Brussels on the way forward.

Caruana must not let the horns out of his grip and push through with meaningful reform at the national airline in the hope that Brussels will grant the Maltese government the go-ahead to subsidise the company and shore up its finances.