Malta International Airport has confirmed that the aerodrome has been reopened, albeit on operational slowdown, to allow flights to land and take off.

“Whilst we apologise for the inconvenience caused, we would like to advise passengers that while operations have been resumed, it will take some time for today’s schedule to come back to normal since many flights have been delayed / diverted.”

At 7:20am a Fairchild Metroliner with registration number: N577MX was involved in an aircraft accident upon take-off.

“We can confirm that the 5 crew on board the aircraft are deceased. Our thoughts are with the families of the people involved in the accident today,” the airport said.

It added that “an investigation is currently ongoing and we are working with all the authorities to provide them with any assistance necessary.”

The Government has said in a statement that a Fairchild Metroliner Mark III aircraft registered in the United States and leased to a Luxembourg company crashed soon after take-off..

The statement said that official information, footage and eyewitnesses, including three members of the Armed Forces of Malta at the nearby Safi Barracks, and two commercial airline pilots, clearly indicate that there was no explosion prior to impact.

Several inquiries, as established by international rules and the Laws of Malta, are currently underway to establish all facts, it said.

The remains of all five men on board, all French nationals, have been found.

“The flight was part of a French Customs surveillance operation which has been taking place for the past five months, with the aim of tracing routes of illicit trafficking of all sorts, including human and drug trafficking among others.”

The said flight was registered with the Malta Air Traffic Services as a local flight and was to return to Malta within hours without landing in third countries, the Government said.

Air Malta said that the following flights that were scheduled to depart from MIA this morning were delayed:

Airport Closure Delays Air Malta Flights – Update 3

Air Malta has published its revised schedule for today including Flight Number – Routing – Delay – New Departure Time

KM612/3 Malta-Rome- Malta 3hrs 25 mins 1200hrs

KM394/5 Malta- Amsterdam-Malta 4hrs 20 mins 1200hrs

KM116/7 Malta-London Gatwick-Malta 3hrs 30 mins 1210hrs

KM100/101 Malta-London Heathrow-Malta 4hrs 50 mins 1230hrs

KM306/7 Malta-Munich- Malta 5hrs 15 mins 1400hrs

KM641 Catania- Malta 2hrs 30 mins 1215hrs

KM423 Brussels-Malta 1hr 45 mins 1045hrs

KM479 Paris Charles De Gaulle – Malta 45 mins 1100hrs

KM328/9 Malta-Frankfurt- Malta 35 mins 1630hrs

KM624/5 Malta-Milan – Malta 6 hrs 1930hrs

KM662/3 Malta-Palermo- Malta 1hr 5 mins 1415hrs

KM614/5 Malta – Rome Malta 3 hrs 2030hrs

KM642/3 Malta – Catania- Malta 3 hrs 2300hrs

KM466/7 Malta Paris Orly – Malta 4 hrs 2035hrs

KM420/1 Malta-Brussels- Malta 4 hrs 2000 hrs

KM102/3 Malta – London Heathrow-Malta 2hrs 40mins 1945 hrs

KM376/7 Malta-Berlin- Malta On-time

The airline said that it is closely monitoring the situation and will also advise its passengers of changes in its flight operations on www.airmalta.com.

Air Malta added that it understands that in this situation some passengers may prefer to postpone their travel or cancel their trips. As a gesture of goodwill the airline is offering affected passengers free re-booking on any Air Malta operated scheduled flight subject to availability or full refund of ticket.

For any re-booking or re-routing enquiries clients can contact Air Malta’s International Call Centre on +356 21662211.

Air Malta said that it is doing its utmost to minimise these delays and inconveniences to its passengers and is offering its affected clients the required assistance.

A spokesman for the airline apologised to passengers for these delays caused by circumstances beyond its control.

Permalink: Update – Malta airport reopens following plane crash, 5 crew dead