Young FO caught flying for two airlines

Moonlighting pilots are nothing new, but they don’t typically take on second jobs for other airlines like Danica Theuma did. The young co-pilot training on A330s flying long-haul routes was fired by Virgin Atlantic last month after the carrier discovered she was spending her days off flying around Europe for KM Malta Airlines. “During his training period, we were unaware that the individual was working elsewhere,” Virgin said in a statement. Unusually, Malta Airlines chose to keep her after discovering her other career.

Theuma had apparently been on a dual mission since last November before being discovered in May. She regularly made the 3.5 hour journey from Malta to London to introduce herself to her Virgin couples. It’s unclear exactly how many hours she flew each month, but it was almost certainly more than the maximum 100 hours allowed by European regulations. The Daily Mail reported that government-owned Malta Airlines is aware of Theuma’s double-dipping, as is its pilots’ union. Neither made a comment.