Air link for Gozo without loss of agricultural land, Robert Abela promises Gozitans

Robert Abela has pledged that Gozo will get an air link to Malta, which could create new economic activities in aviation on the sister island.

However, the Prime Minister insisted an air link will be done in “a sustainable” way, promising that no agricultural land will be lost.

He made the pledge on Saturday evening during a session of the Labour Party general conference held in Għajnsielem. He did not give details.

“Just as we introduced the fast ferry service we will also create an air link... Gozo must not only look at this as a project to improve accessibility but also as one enabling the creation of new economic niches such as the possibility of having a flying school and drone research facility,” Abela said.

There is no air link between the two islands and helicopter and sea plane services available in the past were abandoned because they were not economically feasible.

There has never been a fixed-wing service and the current heliport in Xewkija does not have a runway that is long enough to accomodate small aircraft. Plans to build an airstrip in Gozo in the 1990s were abandoned by the 1996 Labour government, which opposed the project at the time.

Abela added that in the next tranche of EU funds between now and 2027, government will allocate a record €162 million for Gozo.

The amount is much higher than that allocated between 2014 and 2020, he said.

Abela said that the rehabilitation of the former waste dump at Qortin will soon finish and will become a public open space to be enjoyed by the people.