(Adds flight arrangements for stranded passengers)

Passengers who were due to go to Manchester on an Air Malta flight at 6 p.m. this evening were told at 7.20 p.m. that the flight has been cancelled.

They had originally been told the flight was delayed as attempts were being made to rectify a situation which saw pilots working to rule.

Another flight to Russia this evening is also expected to be delayed.

Air Malta said later that it will be operating an extra flight from/to Manchester tomorrow, leaving Manchester at 8.40 a.m. local time and arriving in Malta at 1.15 p.m.

KM146 will leave Malta at 2 p.m., arriving in Manchester at 4.40 p.m., local time.

The airline said it regretted any inconvenience its passengers may encounter due to circumstances beyond its control.

It said that its scheduled flight to/from Manchester tomorrow will operate as per normal schedule.

Air Malta said that it was still in discussions with the pilots' association about the situation. Discussions, it said, may continue until early tomorrow morning.

Earlier today, Air Malta warned it may be affected by flight disruptions due to crew shortage.

It said it is closely monitoring the situation and will advise its passengers of any changes in its flight operations as a result of this situation.

Passengers due to travel on Air Malta flights were advised to confirm their flight departure/arrival times on tel: 5230 2000.

The Airline Pilots Association, ALPA, registered a dispute with Air Malta last Friday.

Yesterday, it said that the new collective agreement was two years overdue and certain conditions in the expired agreement were “inadequate in today’s circumstances”. It ordered pilots to work under the terms of their existing collective agreement after the airline, it said, stopped talks on a new one.

The pilots’ union warned that Air Malta may experience flight delays and cancellations as a result of industrial action, a move Air Malta branded as shocking and irresponsible.

Sources confirmed when contacted that the Manchester flight was cancelled because of the pilot's work to rule directive.

In a statement earlier this afternoon, Air Malta referred to statements by the pilots' union yesterday and said that the ‘slight increase’ on overtime they wanted amounted to 35 per cent.

It reiterated its lost lease opportunities because of the position adopted by ALPA and maintained that the association’s claims were misleading and incorrect.

It referred to ALPA’s claim yesterday that there was a lack of crew. This, Air Malta said, could not be further from the truth especially since the return of the 10 pilots who were working with Polish airline OLT, that declared bankruptcy a few weeks ago.

“The airline is aware of its responsibilities towards its employees, its customers, the people of Malta and its shareholders. The restructuring process the company is going through has been hard for everyone and all other unions have managed to come to terms with the fact that everyone has to make sacrifices to turn around the company.

“We should not fool ourselves, this is the only chance we get to make it work and we need everyone to be moving in the same direction.

Air Malta said that to date and contrary to other unions, ALPA has not given up anything and it was unfortunate that it decided to take on a fight at the worst possible moment for everyone concerned, including its members.

The airline said that the slight increase on overtime ALPA said it was negotiating with the airline translated to 35 per cent.

“Had the requests by ALPA really been what they are claiming, the collective agreement would have been signed weeks ago.

“If ALPA is ready to settle for a three per cent increase in basic salary and a slight increase in weighted units, not the 35 per cent they are asking for, the company invites them to come and finalise discussions about the collective agreement today.”

The board of directors and management again appealed to ALPA to see the bigger picture and not try to take advantage of a situation which could ultimately cost thousands of jobs and millions of euros to the economy and the tourism industry.