Last Sunday morning, I took my son to Malta International Airport to catch Air Malta’s KM100 to London Heathrow. Ever mindful of pilfering from checked-in luggage, he decided to go for shrink wrapping.

At 5.15am, the wrapping station was not manned. An MIA security officer apologetically told us the service was rather erratic, as the operator did not stick to scheduled times. MIA customer care were not very helpful, stating they did not know the operator’s number and could not call him. When we insisted, one of the staff members admitted that she had his mobile number but was loathe to call as he usually got angry with her.

We hung around until the latest possible time before check-in, along with a good dozen travellers waiting to use the service, but no operator turned up. When my son finally checked in, I stayed on until 6.30am, and, still, no sign of the operator.

The airport has reputedly won a number of awards and, yet, it is unable to provide a simple luggage wrapping service at 5.30am on a Sunday, when the arrivals lounge was packed with travellers.

One other point. Why is there no longer any seating in the departures lounge? space? An explanation for this lack of service, without excuses, would be appreciated.