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A courageous decision is needed in favour of Gozo. Being islanders, depending totally on mainland Malta, access is the lifeline for the tourism industry on Gozo. A lot has been achieved in this respect during the past 20 years, but we need to constantly carry on improving in order to keep abreast with what is happening around us especially by our competition. Improvement does not mean going back, like what happened with the only airlink between Malta and Gozo, when this service by means of a helicopter was this week suspended indefinitely.
From day one since its inception in February, 1999, the Gozo Tourism Association always emphasised the need of a reliable, and sustainable airlink between both islands to compliment the sea link. The association firmly believes that this airlink should be performed by means of a fixed-wing 20-seat aircraft. We have ample proof from reliable sources that this link can be performed at very convenient and reachable fares which augers well for the reliability, consistency and sustainability of the airlink.
Needless to say this air link would only be attainable if the proper infrastructure of an airstrip that can handle a 20-seater fixed-wing aircraft is constructed on Gozo. Therefore the Gozo Tourism Association is insisting in its appeal to the Government to take this courageous decision in favour of an airstrip on Gozo. We leave it to more competent authorities to decide on the site where such an airstrip would be constructed.
In its already late in time as right now Gozo is being deprived of an airlink which is so fundamental for its double insularity, but now we cannot postpone any longer this decision. It is useless that we keep on insisting that the airlink is to be done by means of helicopter. We had two helicopter operations that proved to be financially unsustainable. Therefore as an association, the Gozo Tourism Association is demanding that a decision is taken in favour of a fixed wing airlink between Malta and Gozo.
Dragging more our feet on the access to Gozo is only causing damage directly to the Gozitan tourism industry and to the Gozitans indirectly. The primary and main industry on Gozo deserves better.
Joe Muscat is secretary of the Gozo Tourism Association
Much has been said over the last years on the Gozo airstrip. Concerns have been flying about and arguments pro and against have also given their fair share to the issue in our media.
In principle as Nature Trust (Malta) our stand has been rather of great concern since this is one project that demands again land use – a mega problem to an Island only 316 square kilometres of size. As in all mega developments, the airstrip issue has been awaking and hibernating over and over again, with each new awakening leading to endless discussions by those for or against the proposed airstrip project for Gozo.
Our natural heritage, our unique Mediterranean biodiversity and land use are today stressed out under the flag of development. To make the issue of greater concern, government has recently further approved a 2.3% increase in the development boundaries. With this in mind, one cannot but not become alarmed on the yet another 600 metres to be eaten up by a runway at Gozo. Gozo is an island of idyllic value. NTM’s experience with EU representatives is that they consider Gozo’s pristine and idyllic characteristics as an offset for present and future EU funded environmental projects in Gozo. Such suggestions should underline our national strategies vis-à-vis a holistic growth and development with the European Union.
Our worries overspill to the negative impact the extension of the runway will have on the surrounding agricultural land and biodiversity. In Malta, the norm of all development, is that for every meter developed, another metre is destroyed by rubble and environmental disturbance. No matter how our developers like to make their projects look nice yet, one look around the development boundary, and one will simply see abandoned rubble, disturbed ground and moulds of construction waste laying about. In reality we have always got to double the surface area of any development to get the realistic impacted area on land use and nature. Yes at Nature Trust we always fear this as time and time again proved our concerns to become a reality, as a country we never learn.
From what has been told the run way is already in the take off mode since the project was already being proposed even days before the helicopter service was announced as not viable and was to be terminated.
Vince Attard is president of Nature Trust |
