Moonlighting pilots are nothing new but they don’t usually take a second job flying for other airlines like Danica Theuma did. The young first officer training on A330s serving long haul routes was fired by Virgin Atlantic last month after the carrier discovered she was spending her days off hopping around Europe for KM Malta Airlines. “During their training period, we were unaware that the individual was employed elsewhere,” Virgin said in a statement. In an unusual twist, Malta Airlines has opted to keep her on after finding out about her other career.

Theuma had apparently been doing double duty since last November before being found out in May. She regularly made the 3.5 hour commute from Malta to London to report for her Virgin pairings. It’s not clear how many hours she flew each month but it was almost certainly more than the 100-hour maximum allowed under European regulations. The Daily Mail reported that Malta Airlines, which is government owned, is aware of Theuma’s double dipping as is its pilots union. Neither offered any comment.

Russ Niles

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.

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