RAF Tornado in airport emergency - temporarily blocks runway

Alfred Falzon

Sep 24th 2011, 10:05

Where are all the LP apologists and zealous upholders of the so-called "Neutrality clause" to explain to us aspects of the secret treaty that was signed in1982 between Malta and rogue country North Korea, where people die of hunger in exchange for arms and nuclear warheads?!

Was Malta "neutral" at the time when dictator Kim il-Sung promised to donate weapons to the Labour Government of Malta and dispatched military instructors (martial arts experts) to train and teach local military personne? These could be identified by their badge of the "Great Leader" on the lapel of their jackets or shirts and could be seen strutting proudly in many Maltese Government departments! Their salaries, transport, etc were paid from Malta's public coffers!

Come on, out with it, mighty defenders of indifference, sitting on the wall...! Watching other nations burning!

Acknowledge that your buzz word "neutrality" has today lost its true meaning in an ever-changing geo-political world and that you can never use it any more as a scarecrow to keep sparrows away!

Mr Jesmond Farrugia

Sep 24th 2011, 02:41

The government of Malta is legally obliged to allow military forces to operate "in pursuance of measures or actions decided by the Security Council of the United Nations"

Constitution of Malta IV. 1987.2.

Roy Schembri

Sep 23rd 2011, 14:07

What all the fuss about ? The RAF or NATO can do as they please. As has been witnessed this year they can land when they wish wherever they wish !

No point in raising a white neutrality flag as the Government here (who can't even run a bus service) appear to have vacated some time ago. As for the Opposition? Can anyone imagine Joseph (even in a technicolour raincoat) standing up to NATO and telling them 'hey you can't land we're neutral' ?
Err no ! Like it or not we rather depend on certain countries so we all know whether PN or PL, nice meek principles of that sort just fly conveniently out of the window when it comes to trade and money.

And one final point. Are those on here objecting to this Tornado landing seriously saying they would have denied it landing in this emergency? Best think again.

Kenneth Galea

Sep 23rd 2011, 14:03

@R Bartolo
KARMENU MIFSUD BONNICI believed in Malta being a Sovereign state and in our neutrality clause because he never intened to sell Malta to the foreigners. Our country is being sold piece by piece by this Government to the detriment of the Maltese citizens. It is dangerous to welcome these war planes on a small island like ours. And what did the English do for Malta? Thank God it was for Mintoff who terminated their contract in Malta. The English occupied the best places in Malta and Mintoff wanted to give their 'wealth' to the Maltese people. Folks we should all take our hats off to the great Karmenu and Mintoff.
The quicker this RAF tornado is expelled from Malta is the better.

Mr Peter Borg

Sep 23rd 2011, 13:17

Will the British authorities compensate Malta for the use of our facilities as well as for the costs involved in diverting the Stockholm flight to Catania ? What about the tourists on board the same flight ? Will they be paid compensation ?

M. Bezzina

Sep 23rd 2011, 13:05

/meta kemm il darba gejna mfehmin li Malta ma tikser l ebda regoli tal kostizzjoni taghha....allura meta nara in nies jeqirdu u jsemmu l kostituzzjoni bilfors nghid li certu nies halli ma nghidx il poplu Malti (ax mhux sew niggeneralizza)huma injornati pessmi!!!!!!!!

Stephen Koludrovic

Sep 23rd 2011, 11:30

Once he's here,might as well stay for the Air show.

Michael Gamble

Sep 23rd 2011, 10:27

Any aircraft, military or civilian can land with priority at any suitable location once it has declared an emergency and informed the nearest location to it's intentions to land there.
The onus then lies with that location/airport to ensure a safe and secure enviroment for the aircraft to land. The consideration of which runway the location would prefer to be used is not normaly a consideration, getting the aircraft on the ground as quick as possible is!
As for the conspiracies banded within these comments, incredible! Do you really think that the presence of a RAF fighter plane signifies a full scale invasion by the British hoping to reclaim the Island for a new British Empire or even its presence will outrage the Lybians into a full scale assault on the Island due to the presence of a military aircraft making an emergency landing? Please, grow up!

Kenneth Galea

Sep 23rd 2011, 10:26

@Bloggers contradicting the German plane fighters
In June the German war planes were blocking part of the runway because the German foreign Ministry was on his way to Benghazi with his officials. I can distinguish well between flags of different countries.
So yes I got my facts right before I posted my comment on here. Otherwise I would not have wasted my energy to do so. I did not say that they were involved in the NATO bombing.
The neutrality clause is being flawed and abused and these war planes are a receipe for disaster if we allow them to land in Malta anymore.
If we still have the hero Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici or Mintoff they would have told the tornado where to go and would not have allowed them permission to land.

Mr Mario Zammit

Sep 23rd 2011, 10:26

Ghalek tajbin il-Maltin biex ingergru biss. Hobby Nazzjonali sar il-tgergir. Kif qall Mr. Charles Sammut tkelmu bill-Malti halli ma tkomplux twaqqaw isem pajjizna ghaz-zufjett quddiem id-dinja. Gerger Malti-Ja kattiv tieghek innifsek.

j brincat

Sep 23rd 2011, 10:05

Quote:"Charles Sammut

"Min irid joqghod igorr ghandu jkollu d-dicenza li jgorr bil-Malti biex tal-inqas ma nirriklamawx l-istupidagni u njoranza mad -dinja kollha. Dnub li m'hawnx suq ghal istupidagni u njoranza ghax kieku Malta l-aktar art ghanja fl-Univers".


Who knows how many millions all over the world can read Maltese?

You do not seem to be very tolerant. I note that you write in Maltese (in an English blog). Perhaps you do this on purpose so that you are understood only by the locals.

(jb)

Mr Tonio Mallia

Sep 23rd 2011, 09:44

I'm a tolerant person but I swear, some of the people writing on this comment board are the limit!! All these conspiracies and declarations of broken neutrality. Can anyone of you conspiracy theorists come up with a valid argument to prove that , apart from this case, all other emergency landings were fake and sinister forces were at work? There have been thousands of sorties over Libya and comparitively the amount of emergency landings in Malta are negligible. These were due to technical issues or lack of fuel. A jet consumes large amounts of fuel and most sorties involve air to air refueling which is no easy feat even in calm weather. It involves keeping two aircraft of very different performance flying in near perfect formation whilst a fuel line is aimed and attached to the jets fuel probe. Throw in some severe turbulence or a problem with the probe or fuel nozzle and forget the refueling. Therefore the only remedy is to land at the nearest airport for emergency refueling. As regards technical issues you don't need to have a fire on board for the emergency to be real! A modern jet is a complex machine which depends on countless systems to keep it flying. Suffice it to say that most jets would be unflyable if their flight control computers fail. Hence if the pilot has an indication of any sort his obligation is to land asap before the situation deteriorates. So Please , whilst you have every right to express your opinions, do so only after you have watched some documentaries about modern military jets or read some articles on the subject. National Geographic and Discovery channel are a great start.

Mr Joseph Micallef

Sep 23rd 2011, 09:27

May I remind all those talking about neutrality that our Constitution says that we are not anymore bound by it when the UN Security Council issues a resolution / directive etc. Nato are in accordance with such a resolution - so had the Government chosen to participate in some way it would not have been breaking the Constitution.

Charles Sammut

Sep 23rd 2011, 09:21

Min irid joqghod igorr ghandu jkollu d-dicenza li jgorr bil-Malti biex tal-inqas ma nirriklamawx l-istupidagni u njoranza mad -dinja kollha. Dnub li m'hawnx suq ghal istupidagni u njoranza ghax kieku Malta l-aktar art ghanja fl-Univers.

Kemm ser induma ma nitghallmu li l-klawsola tan-newtralita' ma tapplikax fejn ikun hemm rizoluzzjonijiet tal-Gnus Maghquda? U li ajruplan mhux bil-fors irid jikkraxxja jew jiehu n-nar biex ikun f'sitwazzjoni t'emergenza?

j brincat

Sep 23rd 2011, 08:41

Not newsworthy anymore!

(jb)

Ms Xaxa Caruana

Sep 23rd 2011, 08:39

Mela nahseb dik kienet ir-raguni li ajruplan ta Airmalta dam idur fuq nhawi ta Valletta hsibu xi training jien.

Heq emergenza hija emergenza ,mhux ahjar hekk milli Alla hares qatt waqa x mkien.

Anthony Pace

Sep 23rd 2011, 08:31

I don't understannd why the Tornado could not have used the secondary runway and allowed commercial aircraft to land on the main airstrip. Commercial flights take precedence over military flights.

charlo' sammut

Sep 23rd 2011, 08:11

gem gem ja Malti gem gem !!!!!!

Joseph Borg

Sep 23rd 2011, 08:10

Milli qed nifhem dan veru kien kaz ta emergenza u ghamilna sew li tajna l ghajnuna ghax wiehed mil ftit ajruplani li nizlu li veru jidher li kellu problemi. Pero ftakkru kemm il darba nizlu ajruplani habba emergenzi tipo "run out of fuel" so ma nehodiex bi kbira li jkun hawn min xorta ha jgorr.

Il kelb il mismut kull ilma jahsbu mishun jghid il Malti.

Karl Demicoli

Sep 23rd 2011, 07:47

Who needs the airshow?! We've had one all year!

Mr Joseph E Briffa

Sep 23rd 2011, 07:41

@ Kenneth Galea....haven't you ever been taught that emergency cases take priority?

Maria Muscat

Sep 23rd 2011, 06:58

ara this looks like the first genuine case of an emergency landing all year!!!!

James J. Patton

Sep 23rd 2011, 00:20

So many years have passed since WW2 and The Maltese Islands are still playing the roleof the peacemaker, no wonder the George Cross was bestowed on this great nation, little has changed since then as the current expressions of leadership and willingness to assist when required are as ever, there in abundance.

Nothing great was never achieved without enthusiasm and Malta has never shied away from that.

Kenneth Galea

Sep 23rd 2011, 00:06

I would have cursed the damn tornado if I was on a flight and it was diverted because of it.
Well it looks to me that we lost our neutrality clause.
I was delayed on a flight back in June because two German war planes were partially blocking the runway.
We don't want to be involved in this sensless war in Libya.

Mr Joe Cardona

Sep 22nd 2011, 23:38

Xejn. Kelma wahda nghid. Ergajna sirna laqin tal-barrani. Kulhadd jaghmel li jrid nizlin u telghin qishom qeghdin f'xi ajurport militari minn taghhom. Dawn jafu li ahna NEWTRALI jew illa u ahna kontra il-forzi militari?

Issa meta issir xi dizgrazzja bhal kif sehh Haz-Zabbar noqghodu neqirdu u nghidu imsieken ara x'garalhom dawn. Mhux ahjar indahhlu ftit sens go mohhna u ma naccettawx imbarazz ta' haddiehor.

Ms D Galea

Sep 22nd 2011, 23:02

Fejn huma il-conspiracy theorists?