Lawyer says Air Malta could go under by October - Airline, pilots' union heed court advice to hold another meeting

Air Malta and the Airline Pilots' Association are to hold a meeting on Wednesday in an attempt to break an impasse on pay talks.   The meeting will be held after an appeal by a judge this morning.     Mr Justice Silvio Meli made his appeal as he considered a request by Air Malta for an injunction to stop the pilots from taking industrial action. The union insists such an order would violate its rights.   After agreeing to hold another meeting, both parties agreed to report  the outcome to the court at the next sitting on July 29.   During submissions this morning, lawyer Aaron Galea Cavallazzi, who is appearing for the airline, warned that the company was very "vulnerable" and any industrial action woudl be harmfull. He said that Air Malta was about €66 million in the red and it may not survive if a strategic partner was not found by October.    The airline respected the right for industrial action this was no time for such measures, he said.     Lawyer Edward Gatt who is appearing for the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) said the pilots' threat of industrial action had been "amplified" disproportionately.  The union, he said, had only ordered a symbolic dress-down which had...