Alarm bells are ringing on the holiday island of Malta following what appears to be a cancelled flight on December 26.

The flight operator, well known and popular airline Ryanair, claims no flight was scheduled, while one newspaper said they had a photograph showing a departur
e board with 'cancelled' next to the flight number.

The Malta tourist industry pushed for low cost airlines to be allowed to operate to the island in the hope of arresting the recent decline in visitor numbers, and agreement was reached with Ryanair, with the inaugural flight from Luton in November.