MIA and Ryanair have given different reasons as to why a Ryanair flight to Eindhoven returned to Malta this morning.

The Boeing 737 took off just before 8am. But shortly after, it circled in a holding position at low level west of Gozo for an hour before returning and landing safely. 

An MIA spokesman said: "This morning three passengers bound for Eindhoven on Flight FR3475 mistakenly boarded a bus which was taking passengers to an Air Malta flight bound for Dusseldorf.

"The Air Malta flight was boarding from Gate seven while Ryanair was boarding from Gate nine, with Gate eight purposely reserved as a holding area.

"Air Malta crew identified the error, the Ryanair captain was alerted and the flight turned back."

MIA will be looking into the matter further with the respective stakeholders to avoid a repetition.

RYANAIR GIVES DIFFERENT VERSION

When contacted, Ryanair gave a different version of what had taken place.

“This flight from Malta to Eindhoven returned to Malta shortly after take-off following a baggage loading error by the handling agent (Aviaserve) at Malta Airport," it claimed.

"The aircraft landed normally and the error was rectified before the flight departed to Eindhoven. Ryanair apologised to customers affected by this delay.”