Frustrated travellers have reached the end of their patience with Air Malta as the national airline continues to be plagued by delays.
Passengers who spoke to Times of Malta said that flights leaving later than originally scheduled were not only an inconvenience but had caused them to miss out on travel experiences they had already paid for.
On Tuesday, Air Malta said that a number of flights had to be delayed over that previous weekend due to a shortage of aircraft. This was due to a technical issue in one aircraft leading to it having to be withdrawn from service.
The saga continued on Wednesday after a flight to Vienna that was due to depart at 7am was rescheduled to leave 16 hours later at 11 pm. Flights on Thursday appeared to be operating normally.
One man told Times of Malta that he had arrived at the appropriate time and checked in his luggage, however, 10 minutes before the flight was due to be assigned a gate, the flight was delayed without an updated time.
Passengers were later sent an e-mail by the airline at around 8.40 am and notified that the flight had been delayed by 16 hours and were later offered a food voucher as compensation.
“My plans are totally disrupted. It’s a short holiday which is now shorter,” he said.
Elaine Sammut, who was on a flight to Rome scheduled to depart at 7.25 am on Monday morning said that her flight eventually ended up leaving at around 2.15 pm.
With a 10-year-old daughter to keep entertained, Sammut’s frustration was further compounded because they were not allowed to leave the airport despite the delay.
“At around 5.45am, when we were learning about the delay I asked if we could leave and I was told that we could not because more information was expected at 11 am,” she said.
Another woman who was supposed to depart on that same flight to Rome said that her party had lost out on pre-booked experiences.
“We had plans for the day, even purchased train tickets which were not refunded. We had excursions booked as well as transport to our hotel. A total of over eight hours spent waiting at the airport for nothing,” she said.
Matthias von der Decker said that on Good Friday his flight to Zurich was delayed by 45 minutes, which the airline told passengers was due to air traffic control.
“Air Malta used to be reliable and punctual,” he said. “However, I’ve noticed this is now no longer the case, which is unfortunate because the crew always made me feel welcome.”