Call for fixed-wing service

The suspension of the helicopter service to Gozo is another blow to Gozo in general and even more so to the tourism industry there, the Gozo Tourism Association said yesterday.

The Times reported last week that the company that operates the service, Helisureste, is not likely to be operating from tomorrow after failing to attract enough custom.

The GTA yesterday said that flying a small fixed wing aircraft between the two islands , with a capacity of about 20 seats, was the only financially viable and sustainable operation.

The interests of Gozo, it complained, were being seriously threatened even by being deprived of a service which had been initiated in the late 1980s.

Gozo could never be promoted as a tourist destination unless this service was in place as soon as possible.