Pierre Vella was a passenger on the Air Malta flight to Vienna.

An Air Malta plane was forced to abort its landing at Vienna International Airport yesterday to avoid colliding with another aircraft on the runway.

According to passengers, Flight KM514 was within the airport perimeter and just metres away from landing when the pilot pulled up sharply and returned to circuit altitude.

The pilot later announced that air traffic control had instructed him to abandon the approach as an aircraft, visible to passengers during the descent, had not vacated the runway.

Having already circled the airport for 10 minutes before the aborted landing due to heavy traffic, the Airbus A319 continued to circle for about five minutes before landing safely at 9.37am.

Pierre Vella, one of the passengers, said there was total silence on the plane when the incident occurred, although there were no signs of panic.

It was like I was in an airshow. It was actually a brilliant experience, but not one I’d ever want to repeat

“In 40 years of flying, I’ve never experienced an airliner doing such an incredible feat,” he said.

“It was like I was in an airshow. It was actually a brilliant experience, but not one I’d ever want to repeat.”

Mr Vella praised the professionalism of the Air Malta flight crew and the ease with which the pilot returned the airplane to circuit altitude, despite other aircraft circling the airport at the same time.

“Even though it was a risky manoeuvre, it was done so smoothly that you realised they knew what they were doing,” he said.

Another passenger, Rosie Lehner, said the pilot’s quick reactions averted a possible disaster.

“With everything that’s been happening recently, nobody felt very good when we saw the other airplane beneath us. I went to thank the pilot afterwards because he handled it so well. The whole crew was very polite throughout,” she said.

An Air Malta spokesman confirmed that the flight crew had performed a ‘go-around’ procedure just prior to landing.

The spokesman described the go-around as a “normal procedure”, which he said was not uncommon at busy airports. He stressed that at no point were passengers in any danger.

In 40 years of flying, I’ve never experienced an airliner doing such an incredible feat

According to a 2013 report by the Flight Safety Foundation, such go-arounds occur on average once to three times for every 1,000 approaches.

The report described the manoeuvre as “relatively rare” for commercial pilots, with short-haul pilots making a go-around on average once or twice a year.

“Go-around is a normal phase of flight and pilots should be encouraged to go-around when conditions warrant it,” the report concluded.

“However, promoting go-around as a normal flight phase does not mean that there are no safety issues associated with it.”

Ten per cent of go-around reports record a potentially hazardous outcome, including exceeded aircraft performance limits or fuel endurance.