The Malta International Airport was temporarily closed this afternoon after an aircraft parked on the apron produced smoke.

Smoke was seen coming out of the APU exhaust door of the Emirates Boeing aircraft and fire services deployed.

In a statement, the MIA said that at 13:41 local time, smoke was reported on an Emirates aircraft on stand at Apron 9 of Malta International Airport.

All arriving passengers had disembarked at the time. The MIA Rescue and Fire-fighting Services Team was deployed to the site immediately, taking control of the situation within a few minutes. No injuries to passengers or ground handling staff were reported.

While aerodrome operations were temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure, operations are now back to normal.

Incoming aircraft were put in holding pattern until situation was resolved as the airport closed temporarily, a Facebook page dedicated to aircraft enthusiasts, Horizon, said.

At around 1406 the Malta International Airport has reopened for operations, Horizon said.

 

Emirates statement

Emirates can confirm that flight EK109 Dubai to Malta on 6th March experienced a technical fault after landing in Malta which produced some smoke around the tail of the aircraft. All passengers disembarked safely. Engineers are in the process of clearing the aircraft for the return flight.

Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused to our passengers. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance.