Air Malta has ordered an internal probe after a flight to Manchester last Friday returned to base, with the captain informing those on board the aircraft it had to go back to pick up two stranded passengers.

The flight left Malta on schedule at 3.50pm but rerouted back to Malta International Airport after 30 minutes. Sources told this newspaper two passengers who were travelling privately through discounted fares offered to Air Malta staff members had to make way for the two stranded passengers who had paid the full fare.

Officially, the airline stuck to its original statement yesterday when asked whether any passengers had been left stranded at Malta International Airport. The airline had said the flight turned back as “a security precautionary measure following a discrepancy in the number of passengers and baggage on board”.

A spokesman said yesterday that the airline had launched an internal investigation into this incident and that “further comments are superfluous at this stage”.

Read more in the Times of Malta.

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