Two British Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters landed in Luqa this afternoon, augmenting the RAF effort which already includes two Hercules transport aircraft.

The large Chinooks are seen as ideal aircraft for rescuing people in areas where there are no runways, such as the desert.

Both Britain and Malta have spoken of the difficulties they face in evacuating workers from desert oil rigs.

Such heavy-lift aircraft have also been used for resupply operations and the insertion of special forces.

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport continued to be a busy transit point for the air evacuation of workers from Libya this morning, and at one time aviation enthusiasts enjoyed the rare simultaneous presence of three Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets on the tarmac, although one of them was a freighter whose visit was not related to the events in Tripoli.