Passengers suffered a 14-hour delay when an aircraft which was to fly them from Comiso to Malta developed technical problems on Sunday night.
The Air Malta flight was due to depart shortly before 11pm on the 30-minute flight to Malta. But it was grounded by a technical fault and the passengers only made it back at 1.15pm on Monday.
"They keep reschedulingg our flight to Malta. Very disappointed with Air Malta...there are small children and people who need to go to work," an irate passenger told Times of Malta.
Air Malta confirmed that the aircraft had developed a technical fault, and explained that technicians were sent over to repair it.
Second long delay
It was the second embarrassing delay for the national airline on the same day on flights from Sicily.
A separate flight from Palermo left at 5am on Monday after having been stuck for almost 14 hours because a technical issue caused a fuel leak
The passengers were asked to disembark after 30 minutes on board due to a fuel leak. Sources said that they were then told to make their own arrangements for hotels and then would be compensated.
The flight was originally due to leave at 3.25pm and as the hours ticked past, many passengers complained that they were not being given any information about when it would eventually take off.
PN: Government needs to safeguard airline's reputation
In a reaction to the delays, the shadow minister for tourism, Robert Arrigo, said the government's decision to lease aircraft was causing hardship to passengers when the aircraft developed technical problems, causing long delays.
The government, he said, had a duty to ensure that leased aircraft were of the required standard so as not to undermine the airline's reputation.
Existing problems needed to be addressed before the peak summer season, Mr Arrigo added.
Air Malta wins Trip Advisor award
Meanwhile, Air Malta announced on Monday afternoon that it was among the winners of the 2018 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards for Airlines in the
Regional Airline category.
TripAdvisor judged the world’s carriers based on the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings by passengers.
Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion said this was great news for Air Malta.
"We are really proud of this achievement and are working hard to continue improving our standards. This results is based on unbiased reviews and our passenger experiences whilst travelling on Air Malta. This award reflects the company’s commitment to deliver a great travel experience for our guests even when faced with challenging situations," he said.