Almost all Air Malta pilots who called in sick on Tuesday were certified unfit to fly by a company doctor, but a few were not home when the doctor called, sources have told Times of Malta.

Air Malta would not be drawn into saying how many pilots were ill, saying this information was “an internal, human resources matter”. The pilots suffered common ailments such as a cold and diarrhoea.

The situation at the airport yesterday returned to normal after Tuesday’s disruption, when 20 pilots reported sick. The situation led to the cancellation of three flights, while several others were delayed.  

(Full story in The Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com)

ALPA STATEMENT

In a statement, ALPA, the pilots' union said Air Malta had once again been caught spreading 'myths and lies' on the pilots.

"Initially, Air Malta claimed that “up to 25 pilots” called sick, then it increased this number to '40% of the available pilot complement' ” the union said.

Air Malta, it said, had 117 pilots, and therefore the airline was inferring that 46 pilots were on sick.

ALPA said its limited records showed that 16 crew members were on sick leave on Tuesday, four of whom were on extended sick leave.

Moreover, during the night which according to Air Malta it made a loss of  €500,000, neither CEO Peter Davies nor Chief Officer Flight Operations Capt Mark Micallef Eynaud asked for ALPA’s help.

As for the allegation of sick pilots not being at home, ALPA said  there were two cases where the company doctor was “mistakenly” sent to the wrong address.

"It seems that Air Malta has no idea how many pilots it has and now it shows it does not even know where its pilots live," ALPA said.