The Gozo Tourism Association were astounded at the way the news about the new sea-plane service from the Grand Harbour to Gozo was announced. In no way can this new “service” be described as replacing the previous air-link between Malta and Gozo formerly operated by helicopter, the association said in a statement.

The main aim of the operating company, Harbour Air Malta Ltd seems to be “to offer a new flying experience in a safe, professional and efficient manner in order to make a memorable experience for those making use of this service”. Moreover the company aims to “organise aerial-sight-seeing trips of the Maltese archipelago”.

At no instance was any reference made to any service addressed towards Gozo, the Gozitans or any industry on Gozo, the association said. From the outset this looks as a new venture by a company whose main aim is to realise the profit-making projections of its business plan.

Offering a memorable experience does not imply that it will be offering the service to workers who have to cross over to Malta every day, or to tourists and Gozitan travellers departing or arriving in Gozo. Moreover, the obstacle posed by weather, particularly from the wind, is being rather minimised when described as being “the sole hurdle”, more so if one considers that not one wind-direction but three are liable to interrupt schedules.

This makes one conclude that in all probability this is going to end up as a seasonal or frequently interrupted service rather than an all-year-round air-link, the association said. Furthermore since this service is so dependant on weather conditions, it cannot be sold on a pre-booking system especially for packaged holidays.

Consequently, the GTA council said that a safe, reliable and consistent air-link between Malta and Gozo should be seriously considered by the Maltese authorities. Consistency and reliability are two fundamental issues of any service offering accessibility especially when one uses them to market our island as an all-year-round tourist destination. The introduction of the helicopter service had been a step in the right direction way back in the early 1990s. The enhancement of this service along the years was yet another demonstration of goodwill and acknowledgement of the importance of this service to Gozo.

Feasible, dependable and consistent air accessibility should be seriously considered by the authorities concerned. Private ventures cannot be deterred if they do not pose any danger to people or environment, however they should not be allowed to replace or divert attention from real issues. Gozo deserves a sustainable all weather, all year round air link that can only be possible by the introduction of a fixed wing operation. The longer the decision is dragged the more harm is being inflicted on the tourism industry on Gozo, the association said.