Air Malta mitigates inconveniences due to Gatwick’s disruption

The London Gatwick shutdown due to drones has taken Air Malta, like many airlines and customers alike by surprise.

Although the hope was that the disruption was for a short limited period, it soon became apparent to Air Malta’s management that the disruption could go on longer than expected.

In a press statement the airlines said that on the afternoon of the 20th of December a crisis meeting was held with Management and Operations sections to evaluate the impact on the operation and more importantly its customers.

Unlike many airlines Air Malta did not just decide to cancel the flights and leave the customers to find their way, but actively find solutions.

To minimize disruptions on the morning flight to Gatwick on the 21st December, Air Malta changed the bookings of its customers bound for the airport onto its flight to London Heathrow. For the passengers booked to travel on the return flight the Call Centre and Ticket office found alternative solutions on other Air Malta flights and other Airlines.

In the evening 80% of all passengers were informed of their new travel plans which gets them to their destination as soon as possible.

To prevent further disruptions the next day (21dec) Air Malta decided to operate two flights to London Southend Airport so that people had no risk to be faced with a cancelled flight.

The airline said that although it did not succeed to avoid all inconvenience, it did its best to minimise the inconvenience caused and get people to their final Destinations despite the challenging circumstances.

Air Malta Management thanks all its staff and that of its Call Centre that have worked hard to minimise the inconvenience to the customers.