The national football team’s flight to the Faroe Islands turned back on Tuesday afternoon because of technical issues.
The flight, MLT 338 on Maleth Aero, was scheduled to leave at 10am and instead left at noon.
But a few minutes into the flight the aircraft captain decided to return back to Luqa because of a technical issue.
There were around 70 passengers on the flight. It is not known when it will depart again.
Malta is scheduled to play against the Faroe Islands on Friday in their debut in the Nations’ Cup.
In a statement on its website, the MFA said that the flight which was due to take the national team’s contingent to the Faroe Islands on Tuesday ahead of their opening UEFA Nations League D3 match in Torshavn this Friday has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.
A technical problem in the aircraft prompted the captain to head back to the Malta International Airport a few minutes after take-off and efforts by the flight operators to reschedule the chartered flight to a later time on Tuesday, using another aircraft, proved futile due to logistical issues.
All the members of the contingent were duly notified of this unforeseen change which was beyond the Malta Football Association’s control.
The necessary arrangements have been made for the players and technical staff to check into a hotel ahead of the rescheduled departure to Torshavn on Wednesday morning.