Airport on Gozo (1)

The commentary by Castelain in the 'Gozo Newsletter' (The Sunday Times, July 23) about air transport in Gozo was long overdue. Unfortunately the contents clearly show that the contributor is confusing issues and the net effect is that more harm is being done rather than effectively promoting the cause for a fixed-wing service.

It is to be said from the outset that "this has always been a hot issue" because I very much suspect that many interested parties do not know what they are try to promote or, on the other hand, try to oppose. And contributions such as the commentary by Castelain confirm my long-standing suspicion. This issue seems to have been caught between two bi-polar factions in such a passionate way that everyone seems to be missing a simple compromise solution that exists.

Contrary to what Castelain is suggesting, there is no need to think outside the box to solve the nightmare decision about low-cost airlines. The decision about low-cost airlines and the decision about an airstrip on Gozo are two completely independent issues and it is a mistake to link them. It would be a very grave mistake to believe that building "a small airport" on Gozo would solve the low-cost airlines problem.

To amplify, there is no such thing as a "small airport" for use by low-cost airlines. Low-cost airlines operate from/to fully fledged 'secondary' airports, many of these being former NATO bases which ended up dormant after the massive run-down of European air forces during the Nineties.

Another point to clarify immediately is that "low-cost" airlines are anything but "regional" ones. A quick look at the aircraft fleets of Ryanair and EasyJet reveals that they do not possess any "regional" type of airplanes. They normally fly short and medium-haul flights but rarely interfere in "regional" sectors (less than 250nM) unless such regional sectors fully justify the use of an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 to satisfy high load demand.

The geographical position of the Maltese Islands in the centre of the Mediterranean puts them at the fringe of Europe - meaning that services by low-cost aircraft must be provided by jet or turbofan aircraft. The only two aircraft in this class, which I believe can operate out of London City Airport, which is a 'small airport' with one 1,199-metre runway located on the disused King George V wharf/dock in the heart of London's east end, are the Fokker 70 and the Avro RJ series.

This implies that, given our hot climatic conditions, the fuel load to cover medium haul sectors and various other technical considerations, the minimum runway length to operate an RJ70 safely out of Gozo would be about 1,600 metres (almost a mile long).

The suggestion to build a small airport on reclaimed land is to say the least fantastic, costly and environment unfriendly. Apart from being a veritable Herculean task, the technical complications and the costs associated with such a project would be astronomical.

The projected traffic revenue would never recuperate the massive capital and subsequent recurrent expenditure required to build an airport in a saline environment.

I firmly believe that we lack the high engineering skills that the Japanese used in the construction of Kansai International Airport on reclaimed land in Osaka Bay - and these too are reporting massive problems of subsiding foundations in a relatively sheltered and enclosed bay. It is worth recalling that, by 1991, 14 years after construction was started, the man-made island in Osaka Bay had sunk by more than eight metres under its own weight - much more than predicted at the planning stage.

Besides, the land required for this airport of reclaimed land would amount to at least 250,000 square metres (surface area). This would roughly translate to the construction of a massive concrete sea wall with a perimeter of about 4,000 metres enclosing roughly four million cubic metres of rubble which, at current national building waste levels, would take 10 years to back-fill!

We also have to consider that as much as 90 per cent of the inert waste originates from Malta and therefore the cost and delays of using hopper barges has to be taken into account.

I sincerely cannot imagine which coastal segment of Gozo we can afford to sacrifice provided we have the money (many millions!) to go ahead with a small airport on reclaimed land. Shall we attach it to the foot of the cliff at Ta' Cenc or shall we try to connect it to the Marsalforn/Ramla coastline? As much as I would like to see an effective air transport solution, I would never dare to propose such an environment-unfriendly project, apart from the fact that a small airport on reclaimed land would be financially prohibitive.

The need for an airstrip on Gozo and the dilemma about low-cost airlines should never be associated with each other. It does not make sense to build a secondary airport on Gozo to solve the low-cost airline problem when we already have a massive international airport at Luqa which currently is deemed to be heavily under-utilised. There is absolutely no need when we have this big resource at Luqa that still has a lot of runway and ramp space to use.

In a contribution I made last December, I clearly proposed for Gozo a small 800-metre airstrip running parallel and south to the existing heliport based on the successful Norwegian STOLport concept. All the present amenities, such as fire station, terminal building, vehicle parking areas and access road, will be retained in their present form.

The idea is practical, with much reduced environmental impact, can be quickly implemented and can be completed at a bill not exceeding Lm1 million! I had also hinted on the potential benefits such an airstrip could bring to the Gozitan economy and also provide flexible regional links from Gozo out to a range of 300nM.

Incidentally, in the same issue of The Sunday Times, issue, Mr V.G. Mercieca put forward once again his proposal for the extension of the existing 172-metre landing strip by 600-metre. I am glad that Mr Mercieca and I agree on this compromise solution... we only differ on the exact layout of the runway strip - my proposal lies about 100 metres to the south of the existing heliport.

I do not think that we should waste any more time about this issue by writing up useless feasibility reports. What we need is some clear forward vision, a logical approach and, above all, a good dose of determination to forge ahead.