Updated at 6.40pm

An industrial dispute between Air Malta and Alpa, the pilots' union, has been resolved, the union said on Wednesday.

It also insisted that a nine-hour delay in a Catania flight on Friday was not caused by industrial action, but a serious technical fault suffered by a new aircraft. 

The dispute erupted on Friday when Alpa ordered its members not to fly a new Air Malta aircraft because it lacked the facility for pilots to erase recordings of cockpit conversations after uneventful flights.

The action had later been suspended after the airline went to court.

The union said on Wednesday that the airline had now installed the recordings erasure facility and the dispute was over. 

The union said the upgrade had been planned by the airline days ago, and had it been told about it, the industrial dispute would have been avoided. 

Air Malta's reply

In a statement later, Air Malta expressed its disappointment that Alpa "continually fails to show the goodwill necessary to ensure harmonious industrial relations as it persists in twisting facts in its communications to try to show the airline in bad light".

The airline noted that, on several occasions, and from the very start of discussions on the matter, it had informed the union that it was doing its utmost to install the cockpit voice recorder erase function as soon as possible and had made several contacts with the aircraft manufacturer even before the aircraft in question was registered under its Air Operator Certificate.

Despite Air Malta’s efforts to find a solution, Alpa still called the action.

In the meantime, Air Malta managed to find a solution, implementing an in-house modification.

Air Malta thanks its staff whogave maximum cooperation to the airline to minimise disruptions caused to passengers due to this industrial action.