KM377 - Incident: Malta A320 at Berlin on Dec 31st 2022

An Air Malta Airbus A320-200, registration 9H-AEP performing flight KM-377 from Berlin (Germany) to Malta (Malta) with 170 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Berlin's runway 25L when the crew stopped the climb at about 8000 feet due to a bird strike. The aircraft returned to Berlin for a safe landing on runway 25L about 16 minutes after departure.

The airline reported due to the bird strike they suffered a shortage of aircraft forcing them to cancel a number of flights on Jan 1st 2023.

A replacement Smartlynx A321-200 registration YL-LDR reached Malta the following day with a delay of 19 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Berlin about 48 hours after landing back.