Air Malta yesterday accused the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) of being "totally unreasonable" after the union issued directives which the airline said would delay flights by 30 minutes.

The airline said the directives were issued following the union's disagreement with new crew rostering system software.

"This action is totally unreasonable, it is causing unnecessary inconveniences to passengers, and clearly shows ALPA's intentions to inhibit progress and efficiency within the airline," Air Malta said.

It insisted that the system had been extensively tested for a year and was running correctly.

This, the airline said, was a state-of-the-art system manufactured by one of the most reputable airline software manufacturers and used by over 80 airlines worldwide.

Air Malta said it would refer the dispute to compulsory private conciliation as stipulated by the collective agreement.