Trapped abroad: airline stops COVID-tested Maltese man from boarding flight

A Maltese man is stranded in Sardinia after being stopped from boarding a plane despite presenting the necessary COVID test. 

Oliver Gatt flew to Cagliari with his partner Michelle Laferla on July 7, days before Health Minister Chris Fearne announced changes to travel restrictions following a spike in new COVID-19 cases.

Laferla had a vaccine certificate, however, according to the new rules, unvaccinated Maltese residents who were already abroad before the rules came into force, could still return to Malta, if they showed proof of a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival.

According to a legal notice that came into force on Wednesday, residents "who prior to the entry into force of this order were already expected to return to Malta from [all countries] shall not be required to be in possession of a vaccination certificate upon their arrival in Malta... so long as upon their arrival in Malta they are in possession of a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction COVID-19 test performed not longer than seventy-two (72) hours before their arrival". 

But when the two turned up at the airline’s counter with a negative test result that cost Gatt €100, he was not allowed to fly home,...