Air Malta flight KM780/1 from Malta-Athens-Sofia-Athens-Malta was this morning involved in a bird strike incident upon landing in Athens. The aircraft landed normally at its destination, the airline said.

An Air Malta spokesperson said that standard procedure entails that the aircraft is checked after the flight. The aircraft is currently being inspected by engineers in Athens who are in liaison with Air Malta engineers.

To minimise inconvenience to its passengers, this morning Air Malta is operating a relief flight to Athens. Onboard will be the airline’s engineers, flight crew and some aircraft parts. Flight KM9999 is expected to depart Malta at 1100hrs and return back to Malta after operating all sectors at 1900hrs.

As a consequence of this incident a number of flights will today be affected including KM514/5 to Vienna, KM328/9 to Frankfurt, KM696/7 to Tripoli, KM642/3 to Catania and possibly KM 562/3 to Moscow.

Customers scheduled to depart on these flights are advised to visit Air Malta website www.airmalta.com for the latest updates. They can also visit www.maltairport.com or contact flight enquiries of Malta International Airport on tel: 5230 2000 (charge rates apply) for updated flight departure / arrival information.

The spokesman for Air Malta said that the airline gives utmost importance to the safety and well-being of its clients and crew and apologised to its clients for any inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond its control.