During the signing of a new collective agreement between Air Malta and the Union of Cabin Crew (UCC), Economy Minister Silvio Schembri used the occasion to pile pressure on the Union of Airline Pilots (ALPA) to join the company’s engineers and cabin crew in making sacrifices pending the national airline’s recovery.

Announced on Wednesday evening by Minister Schembri, cabin crew staff have accepted reductions in their take-home pay, working hours and other conditions on the basis that no member will lose their job. The new agreement will see cabin crew paid according to the hours flown, rather than receiving a guaranteed take-home pay regardless of the hours actually worked.

After cabin crew and pilots challenged a decision to reduce staff wages to a flat-rate of €1,200, Air Malta announced that it would have to lay off the majority of cabin crew and pilots, in the face of zero revenue.

ALPA had initially argued that it wished to negotiate on the new package rather than accept a flat-rate of €1,200 monthly.

Economy Minister Silvio Schebri used the occasion where cabin crew and Air Malta signed a new agreement to pile pressure on the pilots and asked them to join their colleagues within the company to make sacrifices.

He said the new conditions will free the company of "chains" and allow it to become viable and efficient. He also said that the airline would not be able to operate until concluding with all unions representing its workforce.

Air Malta Chairman Charles Mangion said that the agreement signed in 2016 has been scrapped, and that wage increases and benefits will be performance-based, while management will be responsible to provide career paths and work.