British airline Virgin Atlantic fired a Maltese pilot on the spot after finding out that she was also flying with Malta’s national airline KM Malta in breach of mandatory rest rules.

Danica Theuma’s case was first revealed by Maltese news site TheShiftNews and has been covered by international aviation website SimpleFlying and The Daily Mail, which described it as a “frightening safety scare”.

Pilots are subjected to strict rest rules to ensure they are razor-sharp and focused when flying an aircraft. EU and British aviation rules both dictate that commercial pilots can only fly a maximum 100 hours per month and 900 hours per calendar year.

However, Theuma allegedly used her time off from KM Malta to travel to Heathrow and fly for Virgin Atlantic, which operates long-haul networks.

While Virgin Atlantic fired her on the spot, KM Malta suspended her and removed her from the flying roster pending a disciplinary process.