The Shift portal tells a surprising and very strange story: a woman, first aviation officer, named Danica Theuma, spent several months working at two airlines at the same time. Neither of her employers knew about the situation, not least because one is based in London and the other in Malta.
The scandal apparently began in December 2023, when a first officer at KM Malta, Malta’s state-owned company, started working for Virgin Atlantic at the same time. The woman was an artist at scheduling, it seemed. When she had days off in one of them, he flew to the other, to operate with her. Needless to say, she largely failed to comply with all rest hour regulations, as is to be expected.
In May of this year the discovery took place by accident. Virgin Atlantic fired her instantly. However, she continues working for KM Malta, where all of her colleagues are aware of the strange situation and have made public her protest for the continuity of her colleague.
The Shift has tried to ask the Maltese state airline why the co-pilot is still working, with no response. Of course, the worker has violated the dedication that an airline was supposed to have, but, more seriously, she has disregarded international aviation safety standards that stipulate breaks to guarantee the safety of operations.
