Air Malta Paris Orly flights cancelled after pilots called in sick

Air Malta flights to and from Paris Orly were cancelled at short notice and without prior warning on Tuesday after a number of pilots called in sick simultaneously.

Passengers had already been checked in on Air Malta flight KM466, scheduled to leave from Luqa Airport for Paris Orly at 3.10pm.

As the departure time came and went, flight boards started indicating that the flight - code-shared with Air France - had been delayed. Just before 5pm, passengers were informed that the flight had been cancelled.

The return flight was scheduled to leave the French Airport for Malta at 9.15pm on Wednesday but that flight too was cancelled. Passengers were not informed until they reached the airport and were left scrambling to try and book altermate flights and overnight accomodation.

When contacted, Air Malta said the flights were cancelled due to an "unprecedented number of pilots reporting sick concurrently".

The airline said it was doing its utmost to provide transportation on alternative flights or on other airlines. It apologised to passengers and said it regretted the inconvenience caused.