The fledgling Maltese-registered airline FlyHermes will be off the radar until at least 18 January, a spokesman for Malta International airport told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

 

Passengers were left stranded when the airline abruptly cancelled all its flights from Turin, Comiso and Malta airports.

According to data on flightradar24.com, the sole aircraft operated by FlyHermes has been at Turin airport since 12 January.

This paper attempted to book a flight through the company's website but no flights were available, even after the 18 January.

Attempts were also made to contact the airline by telephone at its Skyparks office in Luqa, but to no avail.

Questions have also been addressed to the Tourism Minister about the fate of the Maltese airline but no reply has been received.

The airline is under investigation by the Italian civil aviation authority (L'Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC) regarding the numerous delays in respect of its flights to Sicily and Italy since its launch in December. The ENAC has raised concerns with its counterparts at the Maltese Department of Civil Aviation (DCAM) over Hermes Aviation's operational status, given that very few of its FlyHermes flights have ever left on time. In some instances, it said, flights have been as long as a day late. ENAC president Vito Riggio has warned that unless the airline raises the quality of its service to international standards and norms, it could be banned from serving Italy altogether.

Until recently, the Maltese operator had offered B737-400-operated flights from Malta to Comiso and Palermo in Sicily with onward connections to Turin in northern Italy.