French Mirage jets leave Malta after emergency stop for fuel

UPDATED | Two French Mirage jets have left Malta after a two hour emergency stop at Malta International Airport after they were reportedly low on fuel.

20 April 2011, 12:00am
by Karl Stagno-Navarra

Foreign minister Tonio Borg has told MaltaToday that the two jets were on a reconnaissance mission over Libya as part of the enforcement of UN Resolution 1973 that imposes a no-fly zone over Libya.

At 14:05 the pilots flying the jets informed Malta's control tower that they needed to urgently refuel.

They were granted permission to land according to international law.

A similar incident happened in Cyprus at the beginning of the month, when two Qatari airforce Mirage jets made an emergency landing after reportedly running low on fuel.

Malta and Cyprus are not participating in military operations in Libya.

More from Karl Stagno-Navarra

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martin borg, does your obsession with neutrality make you realize that using Malta's airspace is also non-neutral? tonfatso, Have you read the constitution? Do you know what a UN resolution is? Guess not..

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Come of it all of you. You make it sound as if Malta has just lost her virginity.

Keith Goodlip •

ANY combat aircraft can be fitted out for reconnaissance missions. Combat aircraft are flexible machines whole role depends on the mission pack installed.

Joseph Pellicano •

bmin trid tinejek ton. kompli ilaq.

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Onor.minister you don`t use Mirages for reconnaissance missions.....you better pull another one..I find it quite strange for these Mirage to be out of fuel !!!!

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Well said Martin Borg.

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Dawn kisru in-neutralita taghna kif iddikjarata fil-KOSTITUZZJONI. Dawn ghandom jibqaw hawn. Pero Gonzipn jaghmel minn kollox sabiex jilaq il-warrani tal-Ewropew. U ghalhekk nahseb li diga telqu bil-barka tieghu.

Gladio •

Keep the Mirage's grounded.Then we have four.

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Who'll believe it? The jets should be grounded permantly for breaking Malta's neutrality, as a christian nature we are bound to save the lives of the pilots but not the welfare of the war machines.

Gladio •

I can't believe those French jets didn't have enough fuel to travel the extra 60 miles to Sicily.Either they can't read a petrol gauge or are terribly mean when they go to a gas station First the Brit's are sending 'Advisor's' to Libya (when they have said no ground troops)to teach libyan's how to shoot even more libyan's and then the French are accidently running out of fuel and landing on Malta,a neutral Country. Food for thought or what?.