Air Malta comes to agreement pilots' union

VALLETTA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Air Malta has reached an agreement over working conditions after late-night negotiations between the airline, the government and the pilots' union, ALPA.

The agreement was announced by Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a tweet.

"Air Malta and ALPA have reached a mutually satisfactory agreement enabling the company to move ahead and become the airline of the Mediterranean. Pilots now need to formally endorse in new vote," Muscat tweeted on Monday evening.

The union had been locked in talks with the government for months, and was the only one of the airline's unions refusing to sign a collective agreement.

The government had insisted that all agreements needed to be finalized by the end of last year if the airline was to stand a chance of implementing its new business plan, which it said will turn Air Malta into the airline of the Mediterranean.

On Sunday, Muscat said the government would not be blackmailed by Air Malta's pilots and was prepared for the eventuality that an agreement remained elusive.

Malta's Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said with the new business plan, the airline was expected to make a profit by March 2019. Enditem