Updated - Rome flight goes to Milan before coming to Malta

An Air Malta flight from Rome to Malta was combined with the service from Milan to Malta this afternoon, resulting in a five-hour delay for passengers flying in from Rome.  Passengers who boarded at Fiumicino were surprised when they were informed that the flight would go north to Milan before landing in Malta. Likewise, passengers leaving Malta for Milan this morning were first diverted to Rome. They complained of having been left in the dark by the airline. An Air Malta spokesman told timesofmalta.com that the airline was one plane short because of technical reasons today. The Rome and Milan flights were therefore combined to reduce inconvenience. The airline also suffered a seven-hour delay on its flight to Manchester. In a statement it acknowledged that there had been a lack of communication on the above flights from Rome and that more could have been done to informits passengers about this delay. "Air Malta apologies to its passengers for this lack of communication."