KM sacks pilot breaching rules after The Shift’s revelations

KM Malta Airlines pilot Danica Theuma, outed by The Shift for two-timing her employer by flying planes of another airline against international rules, has been sacked following the government’s attempts to hide her misbehaviour.

A spokesman for KM Malta confirmed to The Shift that Theuma has been fired following a disciplinary process.

“Following further findings that came to light, KM Malta Airlines terminated the employment of the pilot who was discovered to have dual employment with two airlines,” the spokesman said in a terse reply to questions.

The spokesman did not elaborate on the “further findings” that led to Theuma’s definite dismissal.

Last June, following investigations, The Shift revealed that the first officer, a former Air Malta pilot who was put on the books of the new state-run airline last March, was caught red-handed flying planes of rival UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic while also working for the Maltese airline.

Instead of using her obligatory resting time, which is intended to ensure that pilots are adequately rested when flying, Theuma used to travel to London, from where she would fly planes on scheduled Virgin Atlantic flights.

Her actions breached her contract with KM and violated international safety regulations.

Despite KM Malta management being informed of the breach of contract and safety concerns, they kept the story under wraps and tried to save Theuma from being fired.

While the airline’s Head of Flight Operations immediately grounded Theuma and started procedures to fire her, an unknown Labour politician intervened. This intervention, which was not further explained, led to the immediate halt of the disciplinary process against her, raising questions about potential political interference in the airline’s operations.

She had also been put back on the flying schedule despite objections by various colleagues fearing for their safety after getting wind of what had happened.

In May last year, Virgin Atlantic, which was also employing Theuma as a first officer, sacked her immediately after discovering that she was also working for KM Malta.

Unconfirmed reports state that the Virgin bosses only learned of Theuma’s two jobs after seeing her in her KM uniform on social media.

Pilots around the world have strict flying times and obligatory rest periods to ensure that whoever is flying a plane is fully rested and concentrated on the job for safety reasons.

Theuma’s actions not only violated the trust of the employer and the industry’s regulations but also posed a serious risk to the safety of passengers and crew members. Pilots cannot work for competitors or other airlines to ensure they are fully committed to their jobs.

Local aviation sources said civil aviation authorities, led by a former Air Malta captain and political appointee, Charles Pace, moved slowly to investigate the incident.