And here’s yet another eyewitness account of the prime minister’s party delaying the Air Malta flight from Rome, en route back from China
Going through the backlog of comments awaiting moderation, I’ve found another account of the prime minister’s party delaying the Air Malta flight from Rome on their return from China. The first one was uploaded earlier.
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I was on the Air Malta flight from Rome, KM 615, on 13th September. It was scheduled to leave at 20.35. Boarding was scheduled at 19.50.
Just before 19.50, passengers started to form a line. The clerk at the boarding gate (D7) seemed ready to go and she was actually phoning for the go-ahead.
However, after putting the phone down, she signalled to us that we were not boarding yet. People asked why, but she could give us no reason.
At 20.25 exactly, that is, 10 minutes before the scheduled take-off time, guess who showed up? The pompous, sloppy Prime Minister of Malta, accompanied by his deputy PM Louis Grech, his chief of communications Kurt Farrugia, two ladies, Mario ‘USSR’ Vella and some men who I took to be bodyguards. The sheer arrogance.
Then we understood why our flight had been held up and why we were not permitted to board. Despite the fact that he had left an entire planeload of passengers waiting and disturbed the airport departure schedule, the PM made no sign of haste, still less apology, and did not go straight to boarding. Ma tarax. He stopped to chat with some sapporters of the Malta Taghna Biss movement. What arrogance.
By the time everyone had boarded after standing around waiting for His Majesty Joseph Muscat and his arrogant entourage, it was 21.11 and the plane had missed its departure slot. The captain announced that Air Traffic Control had informed him that there was a further 10 minutes delay.
What he couldn’t say is that once a plane misses its slot for take-off and this is the airline’s, not the airport’s, fault, further delays are likely to be added on.
We finally took off at 21.24. The sheer arrogance of this government and their utter contempt for others have become their visiting card. And then Labour accused Lawrence Gonzi and Austin Gatt and the various members of the Nationalist government of arrogance. Somehow I can’t picture Gonzi and Gatt sauntering up chatting to the departure gate after leaving a planeload of passengers waiting.
Being late for his flights and keeping everyone waiting is becoming a habit of the prime minister’s, a damned shame.
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He does it to show people who’s boss. Now he’s off to the United States – shame Air Malta doesn’t fly there which means he has to be on time.
He kept an Emirates flight waiting at Luqa for a reasonable delay once as opposition leader.
I bet he has a trainspotter’s type notebook where he notes down the airline and how long he kept them waiting.
Punctuality is the courtesy of princes not of the tyro Prime Minister of the new Labour movement.
Money down the drain for skipping the slot time because of an irresponsible man.
I’m so glad you’re back. This is the only site which gives the real news.
[Daphne – It isn’t, at all. But I know what you mean, and thank you.]
Well, if statistics are to be believed some 53% of the Maltese passengers on that flight must have voted Labour on that fateful March 9. Let them wallow in their frustration of having to wait for their totally chav PM. As for the others, well, we have to brace ourselves. The top echelons of this government, including of course the PM, are ill-bred and selfish. We cannot expect any better.
Dear Daphne
I was operating crew on flight KM615 on 13th September and it was definatly not delayed by the Prime Minister. The plane left the stand (blocks OFF) at the scheduled time of 2035. We waited on the taxi way due to congestion in the airport for over 30mins, resulting in the fact that the aircraft arrived in Malta at 2226 – 26mins late. The crucial point here is that the blocks off are recorded at 2035 (official departure time) – therefore both the Prime Minister, his team and the rest of the passengers were all onboard for on-time departure.
Thanks
Anzi ma ghaxxajiex izjed billi qaghad jiffirma xi ftit owtografz qabel ma bbordja l-ajruplan.
What an arrogant chav.
Perhaps someone in the know could tell us how much this cost Airmalta in extra fees
What a way to show how to lead by example and in the most humble way! Our PM must learn to respect before he administers our country in a humble manner. Would have expected more respect and attention by jm&co. They gave away the real meaning of the road map.
The sad thing is that Joseph Muscat doesn’t even realise how rude he is being. You can take the man out of Burmarrad but you can’t take Burmarrad out of the man.
What the pilot didn’t say is how much the delay cost Air Malta. Perhaps the Malta Taghna Biss movement should be billed for the additional thousands the air,one has to pay because Muscat and co went xoppink.
It isn’t really Muscat’s fault. It’s every one who was on that plane’s fault. It seems that nobody objected to this appalling lack of manners. Just grumbling about it here and now won’t dissuade him from doing that again.
”The pompous, sloppy Prime Minister of Malta”!If he’ what u call pompous then what r u gonna call Dr. Lawrence Gonzi…? Dr Muscat has done good things to Malta since March and this is how you thank him… by calling him pompous and sloppy?!
God be with you Daphne! May the Holy Spirit enter your soul!
[Daphne – The Holy Spirit may or may not enter my soul, Emma, but you seriously need to enter a classroom. As it is clearly specified in the post, I did not write this; somebody else did. Of course, I agree with him and disagree with you, but that isn’t the point.]
Well I would not mind waiting for a head of state
Cameron or Obama included
We have to be more patriotic.
[Daphne – David Cameron and Joseph Muscat are not heads of state but heads of government. The heads of state of those two countries are Queen Elizabeth II and President George Abela. The American system is different: the head of state is also the head of the government. They are one and the same.]
A 34 minute departure flight delay, in itself, is no big deal. An apology from the captain (and maybe a faster cruising speed to make up for lost time), and the matter is forgotten.
However it becomes a big deal, when it is caused unnecessarily by the sear arrogance of somebody. Somebody who is technically the top servant of the people. A few idiots may think that it makes our prime minister look cool and macho. For the rest of us, we think that it makes him look childish.