Hundreds of Gozitan workers and Maltese holidaymakers waited hours to cross to Gozo on Wednesday evening, with just two ferries operating between Ċirkewwa and Mġarr.

Many Maltese headed North for the 'long weekend' starting with the feast of St Paul on Thursday.

But they were in for a disappointing start, with the queue of cars snaking its way all the way down to Għadira Bay.

Gozo Channel said in a Facebook post that despite its best efforts, maintenance on the MV Malita was not completed on time and the ferry would return to service on Thursday morning. 

And the MV Nikolaos could not operate, in terms of local and EU rules, its crew having worked for 12 hours. 

Some people reported waiting for more than three hours.

"Downright shame!!! No police in the road either, cars going down one way towards the ship, buses stuck, people walking with luggage, TOTAL CHAOS!!!" a motorist said on Gozo Channel's Facebook page. 

Many slammed the Gozo Channel management for a lack of planning for the eve of a public holiday, saying that the 12-hour shift could have been planned better.

Some even suspected that this could be a ploy to drum up support for the building of a tunnel. 

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