An Air Malta aircraft had to take "avoidance action" to avoid another aircraft over Italian airspace earlier today.

Air Malta confirmed the incident this evening saying the pilot had to take “avoidance action” in line with instructions given by the Traffic Collision Avoidance System on the Airbus A320 he was flying. The Rome Air Traffic Control had given clearance for the aircraft to land. The aircraft later landed normally at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

Air Malta said that the TCAS is an aircraft avoidance system designed to reduce the incidence of mid-air collisions . The system monitors the airspace around an aircraft for other similarly equipped aircraft with a corresponding active transponder. It then issues instructions to the pilots of both aircraft of the action required.

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