Gozo heliport runway to be extended for small aircraft but minister scant on detail

The Gozo heliport runway will be extended to accommodate small airplanes that carry between nine and 11 passengers, Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said.

Closing the budget debate on the Gozo Ministry estimates on Monday, Camilleri said the runway will be extended “without going beyond the existing boundaries” so no agricultural land is taken up. Camilleri did not give more details.

Camilleri said there is interest from firms to use the proposed runway in Gozo as an aviation training school and the commercial testing of drones.

The current heliport in the Ta’ Lambert area in the outskirts of Xewkija is not being used after and past attempts to have a helicopter ferry service between both islands have failed.

The existing strip of paved runway at Ta’ Lambert is approximately 171m long and will have to increase at least four-fold to accommodate aircraft the size being contemplated. Any such increase will definitely encroach on surrounding fields being used for agricultural purposes.

It remains unclear how government plans to extend the runway without encroaching on agricultural land.

Aircraft of the size mentioned can have a range of 5,900km, with a potential of linking Gozo directly to international airports as far-flung as Dubai and Moscow.