Safety concerns justified decision, inquiry finds
But customer care is criticised
The diversion to Paris Orly of flight KM103 from London Heathrow to Malta, last July 26, was correct and "in the best interests of safety of the passengers and the aircraft", an internal inquiry by Air Malta has concluded.
However, the inquiry found that there were several logistical deficiencies that could have been avoided by Air Malta's handling agent in Orly which resulted in customer dissatisfaction. Other customer care deficiencies resulted from a lack of coordination between the airline and the handling agent.
The airline said that action may be taken against the handling agent in this particular case. It is also revising all of its grounding handling arrangements, including the agreement in Orly, and will make arrangements "that will best meet the service needs of its passengers".
The aircraft had to land unexpectedly at Paris's Orly airport in the early hours of the morning due to a pressurisation problem. There were 144 passengers aboard.
The inquiry, published yesterday, was instituted following customer service concerns. A number of letters to the editor had appeared in The Times criticising the way diverted passengers were handled at Orly, although others had praised the airline for putting safety first.
The inquiry was conducted by three chief officers.
Among its other findings were that the captain duly notified the competent personnel at home base, Heathrow, and Orly of the diversion and that upon arrival at Orly, routine procedures for the disembarkation of passengers were duly observed. Air Malta's handling agent in Orly took over responsibility for the passengers at the correct moment.
Considering the short notice and the number of passengers to be handled, the land arrangements provided by the handling agent did meet immediate requirements including the provision of hotel accommodation, coach transfers and meals, the inquiry found.
Nevertheless, it added, there were several logistical deficiencies that could have been avoided by the handling agent which resulted in customer dissatisfaction. The handling agent fell well short of Air Malta's customer service expectations and standards both when the aircraft landed and in the morning when the passengers checked in at Orly for their onward flight to Malta.
Other customer care deficiencies resulted from a lack of coordination between the airline and the handling agent.
The board of inquiry recommended that the airline's Operations Control Centre be implemented as quickly as possible as it will lead to enhanced customer service during similar unforeseen circumstances;
Procedures are to be reviewed in order to ensure a better and more personalised response to such incidents, better organisation of logistics, and an improved streamlining of communications with Air Malta's handling agents;
Crew and airline management overseas will receive additional training to equip them to better care for passengers during unplanned events, Air Malta said.