Three flights which were due to land in Malta this afternoon had to be diverted because the Instrument Landing System is not working.

This newsroom is informed that one particular Vueling flight from Barcelona, which was due to land in Malta at 1:15pm, was diverted to Catania. Passengers were told that it would be best if "they go by ferry or wait for the clouds to clear".

Meanwhile, contacted by this newspaper, a spokesperson for the Malta International Airport said that at the moment, MIA is investing €1.6 million in upgrading its Instrument Landing System, which provides pilots with guidance during an approach to land. "Unfortunately this project has been delayed due to circumstances outside of our control."

"The runway facing the northerly landing direction remains available, however, due to inclement weather conditions some incoming flights were diverted. In the meantime, other arrivals from  Eindhoven, Gerona,  and Paris amongst others, have in fact landed". 

MIA is making every endeavor to ensure that the works are completed as soon as possible and apologized to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused.

In a statement issued by the Minister of Tourism this evening, the ministry said it has asked for reports both from MIA and from Malta Air Traffic Services and to be kept abreast of developments.

The ministry has been told MIA is currently working on the Instrument Landing System.

The three pilots decided to land in Sicily because the weather situation at that time were not favourable to land without ILS.