The initial idea was to use the word “failure” instead of “fiasco” to complete the alliteration in the headline, but maybe we should give some more time until we describe it as such.

But the fast ferry service that links Malta to Gozo and vice-versa is resulting to be a flop – there goes another word starting with an “f” – as both operators have admitted before Parliament a few days ago.

The service has been in operation for a year, launched with so much pomp in the months leading to the election, and had been described as being a “game-changer”. Little by little, the service slowed down, the number of trips was reduced, and it is turning out to be quite a let-down. Its future is now uncertain.

The CEO of the Gozo Business Chamber did not mince his words when he spoke about the service. When he was addressing MPs in Parliament’s Gozo Affairs Committee, Daniel Borg said that the number of trips decreased from 18 every weekday in June 2021 to 10 trips in June 2022. Over the weekend, the trips have gone down even more, from 22 to 10, in the same period of time.

Instead of competition, which characterised the early months of the service, the two operators have now agreed to a schedule, which meant that it is almost a monopoly, he lamented. There are now long gaps in the service, which does not favour students, day visitors, and other commuters who want to use it to go to Gozo in the evening.

Addressing the same committee, both operators of the service admitted that it is “absolutely not financially viable”, also requesting the government’s intervention to make it feasible. In other words, they want the government to subsidise the service via taxpayers’ money.

Both Virtu Ferries and GozoFast Ferry agreed that although there is potential, the number of commuters making use of the service is still too low to make it sustainable.

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, in his address to the same committee, said the government is conscious of the challenges being faced and has the duty to ensure that such a service exists so that there is a better connectivity between the two islands.

In a nutshell, unless the government helps the operators, the service will sooner or later have to be stopped. No private company can sustain itself if it continues to lose money, and from what the two operators said during the parliamentary committee meeting, there is no other way out except for the government to financially assist them – unless the numbers suddenly multiply.

“We are trying to balance between losing money and keeping the service going,” one of the representatives of the operators told the MPs.

It is known that the two service providers are in talks with the government. A solution is being sought, one that seeks to keep the operations going without the companies losing money.

But this solution needs to be found quickly. Otherwise the fiasco, or the flop, will really become a failure.