On Saturday, the Boeing 737-800 operated by Malta Air with the registration 9H-QEI made an unwelcome acquaintance with a baggage vehicle at Luqa Airport. This resulted in boarding being canceled and the captain asking the passengers to leave the medium-haul jet again.

Ryanair flight FR9654, operated by Malta Air with 9H-QEI, was originally scheduled to leave Malta Airport at around 14:15 p.m. But that didn't happen at first, because a luggage tag crashed into the fuselage of the Boeing 737-800. Passengers who have already been on board say that a slight vibration should have been felt.

For safety reasons, the captain then announced that the departure had to be postponed indefinitely due to these "technical difficulties". The passengers were asked to leave the medium-haul jet and wait in the terminal for further information. The crew had requested technical personnel to review the 9H-QEI. The all-clear was given shortly afterwards. Ground handling company Aviaserve, which operates at Luqa Airport for Ryanair Group, confirmed the incident. One wants to investigate how this could have happened in the first place.

However, it still didn't start, because the start in Luqa had to be postponed again due to bad weather in the Lisbon airport area. The Ryanair flight then took off at 18:15 p.m., about four hours late.