Updated 2.25 pm
Travellers at Malta International Airport faced frustration as a global IT outage led to delays of up to 10 hours and a crowded departure lounge on Friday.
Passengers scrambled for a space to sit in the airport, which was already operating at maximum capacity this summer.
Lincy George and her husband missed their connecting flight to India after their Ryanair flight to Milan-Bergamo was delayed by 10 hours.
“We’re very upset… Everything in our programme has changed,” she said.
George said she and her husband would still catch the flight to Milan-Bergamo as planned, which had been delayed from 11.35am to 9.25pm, but would have to rebook their flight to India for the following day.
The couple lives in Malta but were travelling home to visit family, she said.
A Ryanair spokesperson updates people about the delayed flight from Malta to Milan-BergamoLouise Phillips said she was flying back to the UK with her parents, partner and their 18-month-old daughter, with their flight to London Gatwick was delayed by around 30 minutes.
While not too concerned about the flight, she said that waiting in the departure lounge with a young child had been challenging.
“If we didn’t have our daughter with us it would be fine, but it’s a bit frustrating… We could do with more seats and air conditioning,” she said,
The family had tried to access the airport lounge upstairs but had been turned away and told it was full, she added, while acknowledging “there are worse things in the world.”
Meanwhile, one traveller who seemed less fazed by the disruptions was Spanish holidaymaker Margaret Arce.
Margaret Arce, right, says delays are normal in Spain.Despite receiving no information about her delayed flight to Barcelona, she said she was used to travel disruptions.
“In Spain it’s normal; the train, the bus… Every day I have transport problems; for me it’s normal,” she said.
In a statement, Malta International Airport said multiple airlines were experiencing “network disruptions” affecting numerous airports worldwide, including in Malta.
“As a result, delays are expected. Please be assured that we are working diligently to manage the situation with minimal disruption,” it said.
Ryanair warned it faced fallout from the meltdown that sparked technical issues worldwide, including at Britain’s Sky News TV channel and the London Stock Exchange, as well as railway operators and medical surgeries.
“We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a global third party IT outage which is out of our control,” Ryanair posted on X.
“We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.”
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