A restructuring agreement has been signed between Air Malta and the Union of Cabin Crew, the airline said.

The agreement covers roster improvements, better crew utilisation, reduced staffing numbers, changes to cabin crew duties and voluntarily redundancy and early retirement schemes.

This is the third agreement Air Malta reached with the unions representing its employees.

Similar agreements were last month signed with the Association of Airline Engineers and the General Workers Union.

Chief Executive Peter Davies said, "This is another important step in restructuring Air Malta. Both the airline and the UCC have invested a lot of time and effort to get a win-win deal in the interest of the company, staff and the airline's customers."

"Changing expectations of our customers dictate that the levels of service and products on offer should be continuously changed. It is imperative to keep abreast of these changing realities. We intend to offer a new Air Malta in-flight experience and have already started working on a number of projects in this regard."

Union general secretary Richard Caruana said the will benefit both the company and union members. It was also essential for the turnaround of the airline.