Air Malta accuses ALPA of ‘shallow’ arguments

National airline insists Skyparks is a Grade ‘A’ office park, ‘built in-line with high standards including ventilation requirements which have been strictly adhered to’.

National airline Air Malta and pilots' association ALPA engaged in war of words.
National airline Air Malta and pilots' association ALPA engaged in war of words.

Air Malta has accused pilots' association ALPA of putting forward "shallow" arguments.

Yesterday, ALPA confirmed that it had registered an industrial dispute in the absence of a satisfactory air quality report after their training rooms were located at the Skyparks' level 0.

"These rooms are completely bereft of any natural ventilation or window. Since crews will be required to spend up to 7 hours daily in these rooms during courses, ALPA has requested that an Air Quality Report be carried out to assess the air quality in these rooms. We believe Air Malta should look after the interests of its employees and that primarily this task should have been requested by the Air Malta Health and Safety Office, which up till now has remained conspicuously out of the picture," ALPA said yesterday.

But in a reaction today, Air Malta said that the building was a Grade 'A' office park. "The whole building has been built in-line with high standards including ventilation requirements which have been strictly adhered to," the national airline said.

Skyparks obtained a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certification which sets the standard for best practice in sustainable building design and "is the one of the most comprehensive and widely recognised measures of a building's environmental performance".

Air Malta also confirmed that these same rooms are being used by the airline's Board of Directors for Board meetings.

"The airline's Board has already met twice in these rooms for 5 to 6 hours non-stop meetings," a spokesman said.

Air Malta said that ALPA's executive committee "needs to rise above the canopy and start working together with the airline's management" to address the important airline restructuring challenges that lie ahead.

"The shallowness of arguments brought forward continues to reflect a superficial view of the real issues affecting the airline and the need to start work constructively together with management to face the challenges ahead," Air Malta said.

"It is mind-boggling how certain ALPA executive committee members continue to raise issues and object to every positive change the company implements to restructure itself."

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Joseph MELI
Air Malta also "accused" the ALPA President-Capt Azzopardi-of causing a delay of the departure of an Air Malta flight from Milan many months ago and instigated a "probe".Whatever happened to this probe and what were the conclusions reached ?As both this delay and the subsequent "investigation" cost the taxpayers money!
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If Air Malta and ALPA are worried about safety why don't they question the fact that the people in this picture are not safe. No visible barrier between the runway or taxiway and the spectators. No noise ear protection that I can see. This is very damaging, especially for children's ears. The trust on those engines is so powerful that it is deafening and very harmful. What God forbid, if one of those adults or even children decide to go across the field to get a closer look? The intake of those powerful engines can suck up a person from a distance and what about the jet blast, if one was to go behind one of those engines? Not possible? Don't be so sure. I am surprised that the pilots have not filed a complaint with the Airport authorities. Very unsafe.