The Gozo Ministry is in the process of submitting an application for an airstrip for fixed wing aircraft in Xewkija, according to planning authority documents.
The preparations for the application emerged because the Water Services Corporation is planning a pipeline that would cross the site of the new airstrip.
The WSC pipeline would run between the Gozo Sewage Treatment Plant and fields in Mġarr Road.
Replying to various questions raised by Mepa on the route of the pipeline, WSC designers wrote: “We have been in contact with the Ministry of Gozo regarding the proposed runway application that is currently being prepared.
“Part of the runway proposal is earmarked to pass from where we are proposing to pass the pipe.”
The route of the pipe has been selected so the least possible length of pipe would pass below this proposed runway in order to minimise the risks associated with this intersection, the WSC said.
Part of the runway proposal is earmarked to pass from where we are proposing to pass the pipe
The government said in August last year that it favoured more aviation activity, and that it was seriously considering the creation of a new 400-metre or 650-metre strip in Gozo.
This could be a grass strip, lying at a slight angle adjacent to the existing one in Xewkija, making it more suited to the prevailing winds. The airstrip could be used by planes belonging to the six flying schools operating in Malta.
In February 2013, Joseph Muscat had declared that the Gozo airstrip was “not a priority”, yet only a few months later at a consultation meeting at the Tourism Ministry, he said the government was considering a new 400m or 650m airstrip in Gozo.
The Tourism Ministry also stated the government was considering an unlicensed airstrip to keep things simple for all concerned, even though it would be done “under the supervision of the relevant authorities”.
Last November, the government confirmed talks were ongoing with an Italian company on an air link between Malta, Gozo and Sicily, and funds for a study were included in the national budget.