Plans for an expanded airfield in Gozo were given the thumbs up from the Planning Authority’s Board today, after a case office recommended that the proposal be approved.
A government statement said that the project, proposed by the Gozo Ministry, was one of the electoral promises made by the Labour Party to improve comnnectivity between the islands.
“We are looking at the project in a holistic way… in a bid to create new economic niches,” Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said after the approval.
Situated on around 77,000 square metres on the outskirts of Xewkija and incorporating land which currently includes the disused heliport, the proposal will see the runway extended to 455 metres in order to be suitable for the operation of small fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
The proposal was first made in 2022, and the government also intends to use the airport to set up an air connection between Malta and Gozo, and also facilitate various industries such as helicopter/light aircraft training, sightseeing flights, air ambulances, and other research and flight tests.
In their report, the PA’s Case Officer said that the operational provisions will see that there will be “at least two inter-island air service fixed wing aircraft based in Gozo” and that fuel will all be supplied at the Malta International Airport with the exception of an emergency bowser stored on one of the new aprons.
The air ambulance – which is currently the only service to use the Heliport – will continue to operate from the Heliport, until such time the new Helipad is ready at the Gozo Hospital, and the Heliport will also be open to AFM helicopters for emergencies and for VIPs.
Passenger carrying flights will be both scheduled and chartered, the case officer observed, before adding that all security and customs will be handled at Luqa not in Gozo.
Operations of general aviation aircraft shall be restricted to daytime (30 minutes past sunrise till 30 minutes prior to sunset), and inter-island air service aircraft will be limited to flights between 06:00 hours and 01:00 hours, while all flights will have noise abatement restrictions.
It is being estimated that there will be less than 15 aircraft movements daily, including scheduled flights.
In consultations on the plans, the Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) said that the proposal is not expected to significantly affect the integrity of the protected Natura 2000 sites and that there would be no significant adverse noise effects on the natural Ta’ Cenc and Mgarr ix- Xini areas – although residential areas close to the airfield will be more affected.
However, the ERA said that it did not object to the proposal from an environmental point of view.
The Case Officer observed that the Xewkija Local Council had not submitted any representations on the project within the dedicated time frame for it, so it was being assumed that they were not objecting to the project.
However, a week ago, the same local council said that it was unanimously objecting to the development of the airfield, saying that it believes that this project will be a nuisance for Xewkija residents and harmful to the environment including increased pollution and loud noises.
The council demanded that the application be suspended so that open consultation meetings for all local residents with the aim of addressing their concerns and safeguarding their interests can be held; but the Gozo Tourism Authority said that it was “flabbergasted” at this request and noted that the council had been consulted in May 2022 and two meetings had already been held for the general public by the Gozo Regional Development Authority.
The Xewkija Local Council’s recent request was not taken into consideration by the Case Officer, and in fact it was recommended that the project be grated planning permission.
The history of the site dates back to 1943, when American engineers built an airstrip with hardstandings in the vicinity which was used temporarily during the invasion of Sicily.
In 1973 the Armed Forces laid a 22- metre by 22-metre concrete helipad in the current location. In 1996 this pad was extended to 178-metres and new facilities were built by the Maltese Government to provide a safer environment for commercial helicopter air transport, mainly comprising of scheduled helicopter flights between the Malta International Airport and Xewkija Heliport.
Currently, no scheduled flights take place from the heliport, except for emergency purposes only.
It is far from the first time that attempts have been made for air connectivity to Gozo.
A helicopter service between Malta and Gozo lasted just 18 months, after the Spanish company which operated it shut up shop in 2006. A seaplane service, which operated between Mgarr Harbour and Valletta’s Grand Harbour lasted considerably longer – between 2007 and 2012 – but ultimately met the same fate as the helicopter service.