Planning Authority approves controversial Gozo airfield

Updated at 1:09pm with government statement

The Planning Authority has approved a rural airfield in Xewkija, which will host planes arriving from the Malta International Airport between 6am and 1am, despite strong objections from Xewkija mayor Simona Refalo, who called on the board to postpone taking a final decision to ensure that residents are properly consulted.

“If everything is so transparent, we should have no problem postponing the decision to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard,” the mayor said, despite the fact that the council led by her predecessor, had not objected when the application was presented two years ago.

The development envisages a 271-meter extension to an existing disused 174-meter runway on the outskirts of Xewkija, in the vicinity of the former heliport, 300 meters away from the nearest residential cluster along Triq l-Imgarr and 1 km away from the towns of Ghajnsielem and Xewkija.

Xewkija mayor and daughter of Agriculture Minister Simona Refalo (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

Refalo’s claim that there was no public consultation was rebutted by Executive Chairman Oliver Magro, who pointed out that the application followed established procedures, including notification of the local council and its publication, allowing the public to make representations.

Moreover, the project’s architect highlighted that the Gozo Regional Development Authority had also held its own consultation before the application was even presented.

However, Refalo described the public consultation as a sham, noting that 80 residents who live in the area and would be directly impacted were unaware of the application, despite claims that an extensive public consultation had been carried out.

“There are 80 persons who will not be able to sleep. This is a fundamental right. We want full consultation, and the Planning Authority should postpone its decision to ensure that these people are heard,” she argued.

A noise study carried out as part of the application concluded that while noise from air and ground operations will impact residents in the immediate surroundings, particularly at night, this impact would be lower than that produced by the site’s previous use as a heliport.

Project approved in absence of EIA

While declaring that he was not against improved connectivity, NGO representative Romano Cassar voted against the project due to the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) had concluded that the environmental impacts of the project were limited and did not warrant an EIA, while requesting a noise impact study and another study on the impact on neighboring protected ecological areas and bird colonies.

“EIAs have been carried out for much smaller projects. For a project of this scale, one would have expected an EIA,” Cassar said.

Moreover, the study assessing the impact on bird colonies was challenged by BirdLife Malta’s conservation expert, Nicholas Barbara who also argued that a project of this scale should have been assessed through an EIA.

“This study was so flawed that it recommends works between September and December—a period which coincides with the breeding season of Yelkouan shearwater and the Scalpoli Shearwaters,” Barbara claimed.

He also criticised the study for comparing the area to Ħal Far, claiming that if bird colonies survive in Ħal Far despite the airport, they should survive in Gozo as well. Barbara expressed concern that the airport would increase light pollution, which could disturb birds.

“I cannot understand why ERA has accepted this study and based its conclusions on it,” he said.  

He also noted that since no EIA was carried out there was no public consultation on framing the terms of reference for these studies and on the results of the studies.

Photomontages presented during the presentation by the Gozo Regional Development Authority suggest minimal visual impact on the surroundings, and the aprons will be covered with turf. The type of turf used is meant to minimise the strain on water resources.

The case officer report recommended approval of the project, insisting that the environmental impacts are minimal.

Romano Cassar also pointed out that the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH) made it clear that it can only assess the application after the conclusion of archaeological evaluations.

Board member Martin Camilleri proposed that the permit should only be executable after the archaeological evaluation is finalised and the SCH concludes its assessment. The suggestion was accepted by the board.

ERA had concluded that the project does not require a full EIA but had asked for an appropriate assessment to evaluate the impact on surrounding areas.

Kenneth Caruana, an aircraft maintenance engineer from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), said that while his organisation is not against the idea of an airstrip, the runway should be longer to ensure safety. He also expressed concern that students and local airplane owners would not be able to use this airstrip.

However, Captain Mark Said, a retired colonel and flight inspector in the Civil Aviation Directorate, insisted that the project respects international safety guidelines while also minimising noise impacts and excluding any use of agricultural land.

He also rebutted claims that the project would negatively impact residents, stating that due to the limits imposed on the size of aircraft and the flight path, “no airplane will pass over Xewkija and Ghajnsielem”.

After the PA hearing, Gozo minister Clint Camilleri issued a statement saying the airfield was an electoral pledge and Gozo deserves increased connectivity.

"We are looking at this project holistically, whereby apart from creating an airlink between Gozo and Malta, we're also looking to create new economic niches in a sector that Gozo never benefitted from," he said. 

The minister insisted that this project respects the surrounding environment, and further measures will be taken to alleviate the visual and noise impacts of the airfield activity. He also promised that no virgin or agricultural land will be affected by the project.