Air Malta flights are being delayed by an average of 30 minutes due to industrial action by cabin crew, an airline spokesman confirmed with Times of Malta.
The Union of Cabin Crew began industrial action late yesterday evening and continued it this morning, the spokesman said, with the slowdown leading to slight delays on all the airline's flights.
Air Malta cabin crew have been at loggerheads with airline management over the past months, with the two sides clashing over alleged breaches of crew's collective agreement, rostering concerns and a veiled threat by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi to shut down the airline.
The airline is planning to add another aircraft to its fleet and it seeking flexibility from crews in order to operate an increased schedule without adding more staff.
An Air Malta spokesman said the airline was in talks with UCC representatives to iron out differences and return flight schedules to normal. They declined to discuss those differences in any detail.
Attempts to contact a UCC representative for comment were unsuccessful.