Several Air Malta flights were delayed yesterday following industrial action ordered by the cabin crew union which instructed its members to board the planes at the departure time.

The directives were issued over what the union said were breaches in the collective agreement after people on standby were called in to fill in gaps in the roster.

The directives were lifted late yesterday following an eleventh hour meeting with management.

Union of Cabin Crew president Noel Mercieca said the issue arose because there were no inflight managers for two of yesterday’s flights. The affected flights were those to Orly and Berlin.

The company called in two pursers who were on standby but no one was found to replace them, in accordance with the collective agreement. This is usually done to cover the airline just in case anything happens on other flights.

Sources said cabin crew are usually at the airport an hour before departure and board 50 minutes early. The union held an urgent meeting with management and the action was lifted after the union was given an explanation.

The airline said there was “a misunderstanding on work practices” and an agreement was reached on how “to avoid similar occurrences in the future”.