...and reassured

Letters have appeared in The Times regarding the ordeal of passengers on board an Air Malta flight diverted to Paris. I can fully understand their misgivings after a similar experience on August 3.

I was booked to travel on the KM467 leaving Paris at 11.45 a.m. At check-in, Servisair, the French handling representative of Air Malta, informed passengers about an "unknown" delay and we were instructed to go and enjoy lunch.

The departure board showed our flight would be leaving at 4.30 p.m. At 3.45 I heard the gate controller calling the KM467 passengers to go inside the departure gate. I asked him twice whether the aircraft was in and he confirmed: "Yes, it has landed".

So we went in this disgustingly dirty bus departure gate and waited. After more than one hour nothing happened, everybody got restless and wanted to leave this unpleasant area. No way! At 5.15 someone from Servisair came and spoke in French and broken English, telling us that we could leave the gate and go to the Servisair desk, where a number of people looked at each other but no one made an effort to tell us what was going on.

After some insistence I was told we would be taken out to have dinner and wait outside the airport in a hotel for the flight that was in the meantime rescheduled for 10.30 p.m. We were led outside to catch a shuttle bus, having by now walked three times the full length of the terminal.

While waiting for the bus an elderly gentleman was suddenly among us and started explaining why there was this delay. Many laughed when he said it was the result of a truck crashing into the aircraft. At the hotel he listened to every passenger to see what arrangements would be needed upon arrival, and he called on his mobile to make all arrangements requested. At dinner he came over again to inform every one of us about the time of departure and the transport arrangements to Orly airport. He spoke in French, English, Maltese and to me also in Dutch.

He was the real Air Malta representative, Eric Psaila, who has been part of Air Malta for many years. One cannot expect the same commitment from French staff whose company represents various airlines. His presence brought calm back to the many frayed nerves; he was fully in charge and everybody now knew we were in good hands.