Air Malta has ordered an internal probe after a flight to Manchester last Friday returned to base, with the captain informing those on board the aircraft it had to go back to pick up two stranded passengers.

The flight left Malta on schedule at 3.50pm but rerouted back to Malta International Airport after 30 minutes. Sources told this newspaper two passengers who were travelling privately through discounted fares offered to Air Malta staff members had to make way for the two stranded passengers who had paid the full fare.

Officially, the airline stuck to its original statement yesterday when asked whether any passengers had been left stranded at Malta International Airport. The airline had said the flight turned back as “a security precautionary measure following a discrepancy in the number of passengers and baggage on board”.

A spokesman said yesterday that the airline had launched an internal investigation into this incident and that “further comments are superfluous at this stage”. Discrepancy between passengers and baggage is a serious security breach. Tallying the number of passengers with baggage was a security measure introduced after the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, when it was alleged that a suitcase holding the bomb travelled unaccompanied from Malta to Germany and the UK.

But sources told this newspaper that the flight was full and the only way the two fully-paid passengers could go on the aircraft was by replacing other passengers.

‘Two regular passengers left high and dry’

“The passengers travelling on Air Malta staff tickets and who were sitting in club class were disembarked so that the stranded passengers could come on board,” the sources said.

According to Air Malta rules, staff tickets may only be used if there is still place on board after all fully paid passengers are on board.

Air Malta stuck to its original statement when asked specifically about the details of this case.

But a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ground-handling staff should have noticed there was no place for any extra passengers on discounted fares because the flight was full.

“However, somehow, a mistake took place and two regular passengers were left high and dry,” he added.

The mistake is believed to have cost Air Malta thousands of euros in extra fuel and landing charges.

The airline has apologised to its clients for the inconvenience, with the spokesman insisting Air Malta gave utmost importance to the safety and well-being of its passengers and crew.