One flight grounded, others re-routed

A British Airways airliner spent Wednesday night in Malta after the refuelling service was stopped by Enemalta Corporation.

A limited refuelling service started being offered yesterday afternoon after a number of workers, who had been suspended following industrial action at Enemalta's aviation section, accepted to return to work.

However, this was not before about 25 Air Malta flights were re-routed to other airports for refuelling before landing in Malta.

A spokesman for Malta International Airport said in the morning that no flights had been delayed longer than usual and there had been no flight cancellations as a result of the action.

Enemalta, which is so far the only aviation fuel distributor at MIA, on Wednesday announced it would not refuel aircraft after it was advised that aircraft safety procedures were threatened by a General Workers' Union directive to workers manning the refuelling service. The workers were ordered not to fill out certain papers.

A BA representative said yesterday the airline's flight had left London's Gatwick Airport on Wednesday evening after Enemalta announced the stoppage. "When the flight arrived in Malta, it was unable to leave because the fuel company could not refuel the aircraft. All 149 passengers were taken to hotels for the night," the spokesman said.

The flight left Malta for the UK at about 1 p.m. yesterday, stopping in Catania for refuelling.

The BA spokesman said the company would seek "suitable compensation" for the inconvenience caused, refraining from going into more detail.

Air Malta flights were yesterday being given full loads of fuel at other airports before returning home. Depending on the length of the flight, aircraft were being re-routed to Catania or Palermo for refuelling before landing in Malta.

Such an operation evidently incurs additional costs for the airline. In fact, Air Malta said on Wednesday a contingency plan put in place would be very costly. When contacted yesterday, an airline spokesman said the company was not in a position to say how much the contingency plan would cost.

Other affected airlines sought alternativesolutions to stopping in destinations en route. Adrienne Buedinger, the head of the Lufthansa office in Malta, said the German airline had changed its aircraft from an Airbus A320 normally used for flights to Malta to an A321. The A321 can take a larger fuel load and the flight was able to return to Stuttgart without refuelling.