Passengers on today's Air Malta flight KM613 from Rome who were supposed to land in Malta at 12.25pm, were left fuming after being informed at the very last minute that their flight was being diverted to Milan, from where they would proceed to Malta, resulting in a five-hour delay.

The flight which was then renamed as KM629 arrived in Malta at 5.35pm.

Sources told The Malta Independent online that passengers were only informed about this change of plan after they had buckled their seatbelt and were due to take off. The official reason given was that the flight was re-routed ‘for operational reasons’.

Contacted by this portal an Air Malta spokesman said that one of the airline’s planes had to be urgently serviced due to a technical fault which was discovered Sunday evening, leaving the company one plane short. As a result measures had to be taken to try and adhere to the normal schedules as much as possible with the least possible delays. However the flights from Rome and Milan had to be merged into one.  As a result the flight which left from Malta stopped in the Italian capital and then proceeded to Milan and back to Malta. The spokesman said that passengers at Luqa airport were told of these change in plans while checking in.  

Other delays caused for the same reason were on KM146 for Manchester with a seven-hour delay and a flight to Moscow which left 20 minutes late.

Passengers at Fiumicino airport were up in arms not only for the delay but also for the manner in which they were treated by the national airline, since they were left completely in the dark about what was going on. The only reply given to them when they took Air Malta staff to task was that they can file a complaint by sending an email to the airline.

Asked on this particular incident, the Air Malta spokesman said that Italian authorities should have alerted passengers about these changes during check in at Fiumicino airport.

Following the initial ordeal more surprises lay in store, as confusion reigned when the plane landed in Milan and passengers started to board for the second part of the flight to Malta. Sources said that the scene on the plane was more reminiscent of a low cost airline, with passengers sitting wherever they like, prompting complaints from all directions.

Some of the passengers, especially those using the national airline for the first time, were so appalled by the level of service received that they openly vowed not to board another Air Malta in their life.

This incident may have further repercussions for the national airline, if passengers decide to seek financial compensation.

Air Malta statement

In a statement issued at 8pm, Air Malta said three of its flights were delayed, following the grounding an aircraft due to technical reasons.

To minimise delays, Air Malta combined its flight to Rome (KM612/3) and Milan (KM628/9).

On these flights the maximum delay was for Malta bound passengers on the Rome flight that had to land in Milan. The passengers were delayed by approximately five hours.

Air Malta understands that there has been a lack of communication on the above flights from Rome and that more could have been done to inform its passengers about this delay. Air Malta apologies to its passengers for this lack of communication.

KM 146/7 from Malta-Manchester-Malta was also delayed by approximately seven hours.

KM572/3 from Malta-Moscow was also delayed by 20 minutes.

Air Malta regrets these delays caused by circumstance beyond its control.