Malta’s food courier applications Bolt Food and Wolt Food on Thursday announced that they have temporarily paused delivery services due to harsh weather conditions.

Malta is currently facing very strong winds with gusts reaching up to 45 knots, coupled with heavy rainfall and cold temperatures, as part of what meteorological offices have dubbed as ‘Storm Helios’. The storm is set to continue until Friday, with conditions expected to improve on Saturday.

In a message on its mobile app, Wolt Food said that “due to bad weather conditions”, it has “paused deliveries momentarily”.

The message on Wolt Food's app

While it said that any orders that happen to be accepted will be delivered “normally”, it added that its “courier partners’ safety is top priority”.

Currently, orders can be submitted on the app, yet these have strictly been limited to pickups.

Similarly, each restaurant on Bolt Food’s app is limited to pickup orders, with users being told that delivery is “not available due to high demand”.

The message on Bolt Food's app

Over the years, food couriers have had to face horrible weather conditions in order to ensure that they complete their respective orders, which coupled with the relatively low income that many reported they make, have prompted many to question their working conditions.