Two Maltese-Australian sisters have flown a distance of about 156,000 kilometres and spent some €15,000 on airfares travelling back and forth between the two countries to fight a court case that keeps getting put off.

The exasperated pair, Vinnie Bonavia and Carmen Carbone, said they had heard people complaining in court about having to catch a bus from Mellieħa but “just imagine what we have been through!”

The Melbourne sisters are locked in a civil suit over property worth a substantial sum of money.

The Maltese legal system is notorious for its delays. But when this affects people who have to fly in from abroad to attend cases, the disruption to personal lives is hugely magnified.

Mrs Bonavia and Mrs Carbone have come to Malta five times in the last 18 months only to have all the sittings adjourned, one just an hour before it was meant to be heard. Another lasted all of three minutes before it was put off.

“The system has let us down,” they said as they produced airfare bills and explained that leaving Australia was not a simple matter for them. They both ran businesses and had families, so a lot of preparation was involved.

They have to some extent been accommodated by the presiding judge, who has scheduled the next sittings as soon as possible after the date of adjournment.

But this has meant extending their stay, with expenses skyrocketing, they said.

The airfares alone have so far added up to some $20,000 while they have travelled a distance of about 156,000 kilometres just to attend court sittings. Then there are the living expenses, lawyer’s fees and having to employ someone back home to take care of their business when they are away.

Highlighting one particular incident that she recorded in her diary, Mrs Bonavia said she was told to get to court by 8.30 a.m. only for the case to be heard at 1.30 p.m. Three minutes later it was over and they were soon on their way back Down Under.

They have even brought family members with them to testify only to be told that they were not needed, leading them to believe that the opposing lawyers were playing games with procedure and trying their best to take advantage of the situation.

The last sitting was meant to have taken place a fortnight ago and was adjourned beforehand – but nobody informed them of this before they left Australia.

They are now waiting for it to take place on April 17... hopefully bringing the case to an end.