8 comments so far.New book launched in Gozo evaluates a Malta-Gozo airlink
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The Gozo University Group recently organised a book launch of the publication written by Capt. George Kissaun, titled ‘My life in Aviation – the Malta-Gozo Airlink.’ The speakers were Mr Ryan Mercieca President of GUG, Dr Anton Tabone, Mr Joe Muscat, Chief Executive Officer of the Gozo Tourism Association and Mr Michael Grech, President of Gozo Business Chamber.
They speakers were all agreed on the importance of increasing the accessibility to Gozo and that the air link is an essential tool. The book gives an evaluation of the possibility of an air link, either through a helicopter or small planes between the islands. The aim of the book is to contribute to the present and future generations of this ongoing debate and the progress made on this proposal.
All stakeholders present emphasised that an air link would benefit Gozo greatly and that this issue should be taken seriously in the coming months.
The only question that matters is whether or not an airline between Gozo and Malta can be self sustaining. This question has been asked many times by people actually qualified in the subject and the answer has always been no. Does this group think if they keep asking the same question over and over again the airline idea will suddenly become financially sustainable?
These people keep stating that an airline will benefit Gozo greatly but they always leave out how that benefit will come about. I can see where it might be of benefit to some well to do businessman or developer or whatever but is it worth further destroying the island and destroying the peace and quiet it presently enjoys just to please a few rich boys? Are they better than everyone else that they can’t take the ferry?
Once again I quote Charles J. Buttigieg who has written on this subject many times in the past. He says;
During my tenure of office as Manager Special Projects at Air Malta and as General Manager Malta Air Charter we made more than one survey and feasibility study and they always showed clearly that an aerial operation to Gozo can’t be financially viable unless the number of tourists to Gozo multiply to such a phenomenal number which could not be seen possible. This applies to a helicopter operation as well as to fixed wings. I was also consulted by a number of international operators that had shown an interest in the service and they all concluded that an air-link between the two islands would be financial suicide.
Different Government Ministries are well aware of the unsustainability of this service yet for some obscure reason they keep their mouth shut.
My two penny advise, based on 40 years experience in Aviation, Marketing, Tourism and Airline Business had always been and still is to forget this silly notion and concentrate on a good shuttle service between MIA and Cirkewwa.
That’s not coming from a member of a ‘University group,’ but from someone who know the subject well.
Put on an extra ferry and cut the crossings down to every 30 minutes
Gozo is a beautiful island but it is not Mauritious or the Caribbean. Gozo will not attract rich and influential people because it is NOT pristine. I love this island and its people and have lived here for a number of years, but I could love it more. Apart from tourists it is a stopping over point for yachtsmen and rather nothing else. To walk on this island reveals the hundreds or thousands of tons of fly tipped rubbish behind every wall or bush. The local councils do not go out and seek this sea of filth that is dropped everywhere. Hunters start blasting at 06.00 every morning and the fields and paths are littered with the plastic cartridges they cannot be bothered to pick up. People are deterred by their menacing presence, the shock of death and the carcasses they leave behind . Plastic bottles lie everywhere, unpicked up forever and eventually washed into the sea. On the face of it Gozo is beautiful to tourists, but people who walk for their holidays soon realize that there are better places to go for the money. Eco Gozo has missed the whole point because they don’t see how disfigured the island is with trash. Why then should people wish to fly direct to Gozo from Luqa when they can take a cab or a bus from the airport.. An air route cannot be sustained by a few rich boys and girls. In fact they won’t sustain such a project alone. Who else will then? And why should they bother? Gozo is a great place to live and a million times better than the UK, but having traveled the world I feel that unless the government, eco gozo and local councils take their jobs seriously and CLEAN UP THE MESS EVERYWHERE these simple academics proposing an air route here are living on cloud cuckoo land.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Bottles and ‘small’ pieces of garbage will always occur where humans reside – I am not condoning it, but that is the price we pay for so-called ‘civilization’. However, given the free, efficient bulky garbage service that exists here, the fact that the country side is strewn with bulky white goods, mattresses, cars and car-parts and other unmentionable things, is inexcusable. An inter-island link will certainly have no effect on this rather large pimple on Gozo’s nose!
Very true Lesley. What I can’t understand is why there is so much rubbish lying around when the refuse collectors come practically every day here. Back home in N. Ireland they only come once every two weeks but you don’t see a fraction of the rubbish you find here.
A discussion on possible ways how to improve Gozo’s potential and therefore the life of us Gozitans (irrispective of one’s opinion on the particular subject which obviously is always subjective) and the only people to comment are foreigners! Something is wrong….very wrong. Not that foreigners who choose to live in Gozo don’t have the legitimate right to comment…but where are the Gozitans! Always on the sidelines, grumbling and complaining between us and never ever making our voice heard.
Now returning to the comments to the article, Mr. Tyrell quotes a certain Charles J. Buttiegieg and also posts his credentials. Impressive! Now I start to understand why the aircharter that used to operate between Gozo and Malta was stopped. We had its General Manager, the person who should have been the prime promoter of the system, issuing statements which contradicted the raison d’etre of his same post! Only in Malta! And worse still this gentleman, in his capacity of general manager of the malta aircharter comes out stating that the whole venture was not a feasible one. Which obviously begs the question as to why did he apply and/or accept the job in the first place and if he did not know the situation at the start of his appointment, why didn’t he resign from the post once he got in the know of the unfeasibilty of the service.
Which brings me to another crucial question…what do we understand by feasibility? Do we see it from a micro or macro economic perspective?
I say this because we have a very similar situation that is taking place in Malta…we have the Maltese Government who decided to subsidise low cost airlines. I think that there is reasonable agreement that this move has been beneficial to the tourism sector and therefore to the Country. However if we see it from a micro economic perspective, one can easily say that this decision was not a correct one because the Government will never, directly, recover the millions in subsidies he is giving to the low cost airline companies. Which means that in the head of Charles J. Buttigieg, the Government was crazy and acting irresponsibly when it decided to subsidise low cost airlines… which is definately not the case and figures confirm this.
The same may apply to the helicopter or fixed wing service. Maybe the costs for the service may not be all recovered directly, however the impact of such a service on a macro level will surely be very positive. And this can be stated as a fact because Gozo has had the service operating to and fro for a number of years. And if I’m not mistaken the figures relating to the direct losses incurred for the service at the time when such a service was cancelled were in the region of less than EUR300,000 (I however stand to be corrected on this). Therefore when one compares the millions the Government (rightly) gives to low cost airlines as subsidies for them to bring over more tourists and the less then a half a million in subsidies it would have to provide the aircharter with, asking for such a service to resume in my opinion is more than legitimate.
Now Mr. Tyrrell may put forward environmental issues which he has all the right to do and which I not only respect but fully agree with. But it is important to make a clear distinction between economic and environmental arguments. And therefore my recommendation would be to resume the helicopter service (which as has always been shown is the costlier of the 2 options) but which will have a limited if any impact on the environment, promote it intensely, provide the same services that were in place already (including check ins) and I’m sure that the service will regain the popularity it had when it operated in much better times for Gozo and the Gozitans.
It is not putting a piece off tarmac down and having a few planes to fly in it will require a fire service check in decks, maintains hangers some were to have a drink, seats plus it will also have to have security plus customs and to make it violable you would have to have tha planes to match the incoming flights that land in Malta with very little waiting time other wise you may as well just get a ferry as that will not take as long. You can not make it pay with just a few rich people wanting to fly from Gozo to Malta and pack.
I agree Mr Busuttil.
I am one of the foreigners who have moved to Gozo and have lived here for three years. I don’t want to move back to London or anywhere else. I commented on all the trash dumped around the island and the legacy the hunters leave behind them. Nevertheless I love this island. I really believe that a helicopter service could be great. I also agree that Gozitans groan enough but don’t officially complain. They get shotgun blasted out of bed at six am in the morning, every morning, complain to each other and that is it. The trouble is, what is the point of complaining if one is Gozitan?. I do speak as a foreigner and have many Gozitan friends and they say that if they complain officially they won’t be heard. Actually ignored. And how many know how to officially complain? It is a dreadful situation. There are a small amount of people on this island that do bad things through ignorance, but crime is so low and human respect is so high. It is Gozo at its best. This island really needs to address its potential. Hell, look It Tokk in Victoria. Why hasn’t it been pedestrianized, the frontages whitewashed and the place lit up in the evenings. It could be a microcosm of Kracow or any other signal center in Europe. As I wrote before Gozo needs support from its councils, eco Gozo and the government. Clean this island up and it will be a true jewel in the Med. Mr Busittil, give me your number and I will support your efforts.
Mr. Palmer,
You express our sentiments about the dumping of rubbish in the streets awaiting collection precisely. We, like you, love this island and its people but the island does not do itself justice in many ways. We have been coming here for some 23 years and for the last eight years have had an apartment here. Not much has changed in 23 years, but I do have to say that as a diver I appreciate the great improvements which have been made to access to the dive sites on Gozo.
To return to the rubbish, until this summer we had skips along the road into which rubbish could be deposited. This summer some wise person on the Zeebug council decided to save money by removing the skips. Previously the workers could empty a skip containing the rubbish of many households in one fell swoop. Now they have to lift each bag of rubbish individually leaving a residue on the pavement or road side if the local rats or dogs have been active. More work so where is the saving?
Last year MEPA made its contribution by insisting that the flats opposite to our block
must dig up nice the neat, small terraces at the entrance to their flats because ten or twenty years ago they did not have planning permission. We were left with the usual rubbish tip and the owners of the flats had to climb a mountain to gain access to their properties.
The same area has now been roughly concreted over (no space saved in the road by the way) and is still almost as unsightly as the tip left after the removal of the small terraces.
Once attractive entrances are now a mess.
So what was the point of the exercise?
If something is not done to rebuild and improve the sea defences in Marsalforn very soon the town will be washed away.
The Dutch could show the Gozetans how it should be done.