An Air Malta plane that was forced to abort take-off soon after it started its run was “nowhere near critical speed”, civil aviation sources said.

Passengers on board KM612 flight to Rome were shocked when the plane pulled to a sudden halt when it had already started its take-off run on Friday morning.

The sources said such a manoeuvre was standard procedure to maintain safe distance separation between aircraft and, in this case, it appeared to have worked like clockwork.

As usually happens in such circumstances, the civil aviation authorities are compiling reports from those involved to help them reach their conclusions.

READ: Aborted take-off shakes up passengers

Though it has not been officially announced what led to the aborted take-off, the sources said the pilot of Hungarian airline WizzAir flight decided to abort landing and perform a go-around.

Although it was not a case of a near miss, standard procedure demanded action be taken to ensure there was a safe distance between the two planes, the sources added, hence, the Air Malta captain’s decision not to take off.

An Air Malta spokesman said the pilot had already submitted an internal safety report.

One of the aircraft’s brakes had to be changed before the plane could take off, considered by sources to be normal procedure following an aborted take-off , especially in the hot summer months.