Plans for an expanded airfield in Gozo were given the thumbs up from the Planning Authority's Board on Thursday - although the project has faced several lines of criticism as of late on its potential impact on residents and on its viability.

"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.

There are plans for a service to run between Malta's airport and this new rural airfield on small aircraft - a boon for connectivity, but also an idea which has led to question marks over whether it will be commercially viable.

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.

It feels like at the moment, the government is seeking to tick as many boxes as it can when it comes to connectivity, without necessarily keeping in mind that the service itself needs to be commercially viable.

The fast ferry between Malta and Gozo is an example: it was a service which for many years was demanded by people and which, on paper, is very convenient because it sails to Valletta rather than Cirkewwa. 

However it soon became apparent to the two operators who ran the service that it was not commercially viable, meaning that for it to continue running, the government had to step in and provide a Public Service Obligation framework - meaning that it would grant a certain amount of funding to the operators in order to keep the service going.

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant commented on this topic in his weekly column with The Malta Independent yesterday, saying that what is being said about the project is nothing short of a "mirage" and that the government will "sooner rather than later" have to step in to rescue the would-be service operator.

"The worst thing in life is not to commit mistakes but to go on repeating them. Governmental authorities and the representatives of the private sector in Gozo are marching down this road. It appears that they have learnt nothing from the problems of Gozo Channel, the helicopter service and the fast ferry project. At last, so it seems, they will get the airport they have long been dreaming about," Sant wrote.

The next step is now seeing the airfield built, but then seeing what service is to operate it and then whether it will be viable or not.