Updated | Air Malta employees speak of uncertainty about their future

Unions representing workers at Air Malta have voiced their concerns over a memorandum of understanding signed between Air Malta and Alitalia, where the latter is preparing to buy a 49% stake in the national airline.

Alitalia is currently carrying out its due diligence on Air Malta. If it goes through with the deal, the Maltese government would retain its majority shareholding whilst the airline will also retain its name.

In a meeting with Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, the unions unanimously expressed concern at the lack of information and knowledge of what is to come.

“We are concerned over how our working conditions will be affected since we do not know what’s going to happen with the company,” a representative of the Airline Engineers Union told Busuttil and PN MPs Antoine Borg, Claudio Grech and Censu Galea.

Head of the Pilots Association, Dominic Azzopardi, confirmed the same concerns, lamenting of the vague answers they had received about their future. Azzopardi went on to suggest that workers should have the opportunity to buy shares within the company.
“We are interested in the idea of employees buying company shares,” he said.
Likewise, a representative for the Cabin Crew Union said their main concerns were the rights of the crew: "We are worried about the number of crew that will be affected by the deal."
General Workers Union president Victor Carachi cautioned that the union did not wish to see Air Malta become a political football.

On his part, the PN leader said that the Nationalist Party was closely following developments, agreeing that importance should be given to workers.

"Political quarrels are not important. What is important is the future of the national airline," Busuttil said.

The PN, he added, viewed Air Malta as a strategic company for the country’s prosperity.

Busuttil went on to voice the party’s concerns over comments made by Alitalia’s President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. He said, that if the deal goes forward, the investment for Alitalia would be “a zero-risk operation – sub-zero, indeed”. According to Busuttil, this implied a lack of faith in the airline.

Meanwhile, the Ministry for Tourism said that information sessions and consultation meetings were ongoing with stakeholders in the tourism sector over Air Malta.

A meeting was held with representatives from MHRA, the Chamber of Commerce, the GRTU, MIA and the MTA board with Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and president emeritus George Abela.

Present for the meeting was the Air Malta management.

The ministry said the format followed a similar meeting held with workers’ unions, with Air Malta chairperson Maria Micallef carrying out a presentation on the memorandum of understanding, the airline’s financial situation and the negotiations with Alitalia.

Further meetings with stakeholders are also planned.