Air Malta has kept mum on the number of employees who have availed themselves of the early retirement scheme launched at the beginning of March.

The scheme was open to workers for a period of one month, until 30 March. Asked about the uptake for the scheme, a spokesperson for the national airline said: “The early and voluntary schemes are in accordance with the agreement reached with the respective unions. Given the nature of the matter, details of the scheme are of confidential nature.”

Sources had recently told the national broadcaster that the schemes were open to all Air Malta employees who qualify. Criteria for qualification were laid out in the respective sectoral agreements for each of the workers’ unions and signed by both parties.

While eligibility for early retirement schemes are subject to specific conditions, sources told TVM that workers from all unions were eligible to apply for the voluntary retirement scheme.

It was also reported that in the case of cabin crew members who qualified for early retirement, they would receive a lump-sum equivalent to two-thirds of their basic salary as of 1 January 2018.

Subsequent governments have received harsh criticism over Air Malta after previous Nationalist Party governments allowed serious shortcomings in the airline’s finances, necessitating a state bail-out, while the public had higher hopes for the last two Labour governments to get the company back on its feet.

A series of restructuring efforts have been made, such as aggressive cost-cutting measures and a change in service in order to compete with low-cost airlines such as Ryan Air and Easy Jet. Air Malta made headlines in recent weeks after concern was expressed about the use of an old plane which caused delays and maintenance issues.