In the light of the foiled plot to blow up airplanes in flight from the United Kingdom to the United States of America, Air Malta has stated that its flights to and from the United Kingdom are currently operating according to the established schedule.
In turn, two British Airways flights scheduled to arrive from the United Kingdom to Malta were delayed because of the attempted attacks. Flight BA6822 from Manchester was delayed by 40 minutes, arriving in Malta at 1215CEST, while flight BA6932 from Gatwick hit the runway at 1220CEST, after a 50 minute long delay.
Flight KM129 from Gatwick/Catania, scheduled to land in Malta at 1840CEST is expected to be delayed, while flight KM173 from Birmingham is also set to land later than the time at 2350CEST. The extent of these delays is not yet known.
Passengers traveling on all flights departing from Malta International Airport are advised that only one piece of hand luggage can be carried on board.
The airline said it is closely monitoring the situation and will advise of any changes in its operations should the need arise.
Air Malta passengers who are due to travel to the UK and may wish to contact the airline, may do so on telephone number 21 662211.
In the light of the foiled attacks, Maltese passengers travelling to the United Kingdom have been urged to remain calm but vigilant.
The plot to blow up the airplanes and possibly murder thousands of people was disrupted by Scotland Yard. CNN News reported that according to a United States government official, some of the flights involved in the plot would have headed to New York, Washington, D.C., and California.
According to BBC News it is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage on to as many as 10 aircraft. Police are searching premises after 21 people were arrested.
High security is causing delays at all United Kingdom airports.
The threat level to the United Kingdom has been raised by MI5 to critical after the arrests in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham. According to the MI5 this means "an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the United Kingdom".
Passengers boarding from United Kingdom airports are not being allowed to take on any hand luggage except essential items such as wallets and passports, which must be carried in see-through carrier bags.
Three US airlines are believed to have been targeted.
The worst affected airport is that of Heathrow which closed to all incoming flights that are not already in air, while several outbound services have been cancelled. Stansted has also been affected badly and has cancelled a third of all outbound flights. In all other airports, delays and heightened security checks are in place.
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