Some 70 Air Malta pilots laid off by the airline this week turned up at the airline’s head office at Skyparks on Tuesday to return their uniforms and other company equipment, as instructed.

The pilots’ union president, Dominic Azzopardi, told Times of Malta that the company had instructed the pilots who had their jobs terminated to return any company equipment in their possession as well as the pilots’ uniform, which was also provided by the airline. 

He said the instructions and several termination letters were issued prior to the injunction filed on Sunday. 

“We are not asking for more than we are entitled to. All we want is a job guarantee. We are here because we want to protect our members’ working conditions as other unions should have done. The company wanted us to give up some of our conditions. We are not here because we damaged any plane or for not doing our jobs - we were always loyal to the company and the people we carry - but because the company’s management decided to halve the number of pilots,” Azzopardi said.

He continued: “We will not allow anyone to use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to eat away at our work conditions.”

He said the pilots were returning the company equipment as they had been instructed to do, with instructions being issued on Sunday at the same time that the pilots’ union was successfully obtaining an injunction to stop Air Malta and the government from proceeding with plans to lay off 69 pilots. 

Air Malta's uniforms and other equipment being handed in by pilots. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The legal arguments will be thrashed out in court on June 15. The matter reached the Law Courts after the airline late on Friday decided to proceed with the termination of half its pilot compliment following the breakdown of talks with the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA). 

The pilots’ union said that layoffs came as a “complete surprise” and that the airline had used the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to do away with the current conditions of employment.   

The airline said the union was insisting on an early retirement package worth €73 million but the union said this was the value of the condition the airline wanted the pilots to give up from their collective agreement. 

Pilots who spoke to Times of Malta on condition of anonymity said it was a sad moment for them having to give away the uniform they wore so proudly for so many years, summer or winter, rain or shine. 

“I must admit its quite emotional for me. But there’s so much that we can give in to. We gave the airline all we had for very long but we cannot be treated this way,” one pilot said. 

Some of the pilots who were laid off have been working for Air Malta for up to two decades.