The proposed Gozo airstrip is in limbo as the completed feasibility study has yet to be presented to Cabinet.
The Times of Malta filed a freedom of information request to see the study at the beginning of the year but this was rejected on the basis that the study had yet to be seen by Cabinet.
Another freedom of information request was rejected last month on the same grounds.
Uncertainty has reigned over the airstrip ever since Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the Gozo Ministry gave conflicting messages about the priority being given to the project.
Prior to the 2013 general election, Dr Muscat had said an airstrip would not be a priority for the Labour government. A year later, the Gozo Ministry had said it was still weighing up a number of connectivity options, including the airstrip.
Plans had been forwarded by the government that year to Brussels for a 900-metre-long rural airfield in Gozo with the aim of tapping into EU funding for the estimated €14 million project.
The airstrip was meant to be completed by 2017
The airstrip was meant to be completed by 2017 and be capable of handling both internal flights and air traffic from the surrounding regions.
The document sent to the EU had stated that a new airstrip could more than double Gozo’s tourist arrivals.
Both the Gozo Tourism Association and the Gozo Business Chamber favour having an airstrip in Gozo, seeing it as a good infrastructural investment for Gozo, which would offer the possibility of opening direct routes to the island from Schengen countries in the region.
The government had wanted the new airstrip to be a fully-licensed aerodrome facility, including a terminal and various ancillary facilities connected with these types of regional airports. But since then it has put the proposal on the backburner, in favour of building an underwater tunnel between Malta and Gozo.
The government has also mentioned the introduction of a fast-ferry service between the two islands.
As far back as 2014, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo had said his ministry was in the “final stages” of studies on the introduction of such a service.
Dr Refalo said the service would be for foot passengers only, complementing the service offered by the Gozo Channel.
Gozo Channel in the past used to operate the catamaran Victoria Express as a fast service, but the service did not prove to be financially viable.