Updated at 7.50pm

Air Malta has cancelled its Friday evening flight from Frankfurt, soon after posting on Facebook that this was anticipated.

"Due to the transport strike in Italy and the consequential disruption of services, we are forced to delay/cancel a number of flights today and tomorrow," it said.

The board at MIA on Friday showed that other flights were also delayed.

However, some passengers stranded at the airport told the Times of Malta that they were sceptical about the cause, since the airline had already cancelled a flight to London Southend on Friday 'because of operational restrictions'.

To add to the airline's woes, it announced at 6.50pm that one of its aircraft was hit by a contractor’s catering truck at Malta International Airport.

"The aircraft is currently being inspected by the airline’s engineers to determine the extent of the damage with a view to return the aircraft to normal operations as soon as possible. This can have an impact on some flights. Passengers are requested to visit www.airmalta.com for the latest updates," it warned.

The airline also announced that the Paris Charles de Gaulle flight on Saturday was cancelled, with those to Orly being merged, blaming it on "operational restrictions and a strike in Italy". 

Read: Air Malta braces for more delays, cancellations

Air Malta cancelled at least three flights last weekend while the departure of another 13 flights from airports around Europe had to be rescheduled. Its chief commercial officer Paul Sies making an unprecedented public announcement through social media asking companies to provide a plane to the national airline.

“Looking for a wet-lease A320/737 or larger for Sunday 3 June to operate 6 sectors from Malta,” Mr Sies wrote in his LinkedIn message asking recipients to mail him.

However, there appears to be a glimmer of hope that the situation will improve. Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi posted on Facebook to say that a new Airbus A320 Neo arrived last week with another due shortly. He said that the gradual replacement of the fleet over a one year period would reduce the need for lengthy maintenance.

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The minister acknowledged that the increase in routes had put pressure on the airline at a time when it had problems with a shortage of both planes and pilots, but said nothing about the delays or cancellations.