Air Malta pilots 'overworked'

The Airline Pilots Association (Alpa) has expressed surprise at a comment passed by Air Malta chief executive officer Joe Cappello that the airline was operating normally with 125 pilots when, it claimed, the pilots were being overworked.

Mr Cappello's comment was made in an interview with the Business section of The Times on August 31, Alpa said the resignation of 28 pilots over the last two years, coupled with Air Malta's slow reaction to the need to recruit and find ways of keeping local pilots in Malta, has meant that the airline's pilots were constantly reaching legal limits. This, it said, has been the situation for the past few months.

Alpa said it had had to step in on many occasions after Air Malta put pilots on the roster to work beyond international flight time limitations.

The way Air Malta was now operating meant constant changes to pilots' rosters, some going far beyond what was allowed in the collective agreement.

Sometimes, there were enough pilots to place crew on stand-by. Moreover, crew for several flights were being found just a day, sometimes a few hours, before the flight. As a result, Air Malta pilots were being called in on their day off.

This shortage, Alpa said, meant that Air Malta pilots were unable to plan their vacation leave.