Quarter of Air Malta flights delayed

As the new EU rules on compensation for delayed and cancelled flights come into force, figures show Air Malta has one of the worst punctuality records of European airlines.

According to a report by the Association of European Airlines (AEAs), 74.4 per cent of Air Malta flights left on time last year, ranking it 27th out of 28 airlines.

Tarom Romanian Airlines ranked first on the list of short to medium haul flights with 92.3 per cent departing on time, followed by Luxair, Finnair, Brussels Airlines and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

Alitalia ranked 10th while British Airways ranked 23rd. The report said flights within 15 minutes of scheduled time were not regarded as delayed.

When asked what arrangements Air Malta was making to prepare itself in case it had to compensate people, a spokesman said the necessary preparations had been made internally over the past months to pave the way for the regulations' implementation.

He said internal procedures were amended accordingly to cover all aspects of the regulations and ensure compliance while relevant information leaflets and notices, which highlight consumers' rights, were printed and will be made available to Air Malta clients.

The Association of European Airlines has said that the potential compensation bills of the new rules could amount to €250,000 per flight and called the legislation "deeply flawed and potentially very damaging to [airlines'] business, but also to the relationship with consumers".

The Air Malta spokesman said the national carrier agreed with the AEAs' assessment that the regulation was discriminatory and extremely damaging to the potential development of airline business as well as to the relationship between airlines and consumers.

"Very often delays and cancellations of flights are not due to the commercial exigencies of airlines but to circumstances beyond their control," he said, adding that airlines continued to be faced by the inefficiencies of airport infrastructure they flew into. He explained that due to air or ground congestion service could fall short.

British Airways' manager in Malta, James Stagno Navarra said the company would "follow the EU law to the letter". He said although this would cost more, it was giving a better deal to the customer and staff have been informed about it.

Mr Stagno Navarra said British Airways had been following a system of compensation for a number of years but the new rules provided a level playing field between airlines.

Alitalia's district manager for Malta, Edward Magro, said like all other European carriers, the Italian airline was obliged to follow the regulations.

A spokesman for Malta International Airport told The Times that although this was not always the case, a delayed flight could affect other flights. She said MIA was distributing leaflets listing the new passengers' rights while posters had been put up at the airport.