The two Libyan mirage jets which defected to Malta last year might not be ready to be flown back on Tuesday after problems were encountered yesterday morning during engine runs. Fast taxi tests in preparation for their departure were aborted.

Today, the experts are expected to have a clearer idea of whether or not the jets will be able to depart on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of their arrival. The two Libyan pilots, who spent seven months on the island, flew the fighter planes to Malta after refusing to bomb anti-Gaddafi revolutionaries on the fifth day of the revolution.

They returned to the island on Saturday after flight training in France, in preparation to take the planes back home. Colonels Ali al-Rabti and Abdullah al-Salheen have played down the reported skirmishes between militias in Libya.

Interviewed by The Sunday Times, the pilots, hailed as Libyan heroes, said life was improving in Libya since the revolution. Friends for 13 years, Col al-Rabti and Col al-Salheen were on that fateful day made to choose between their country and their families, whom they had to abandon to seek political asylum in Malta.

During their time in Malta, they were housed at the Armed Forces of Malta’s Luqa Barracks for protection and only left on four occasions, each time under armed guard.