Updated at 11.45am with mayor's comments

Those who have read Gerald Durrell’s The Fantastic Flying Journey or watched Phileas Fogg’s adventures in the film adaptations of Jules Vernes’s Around the World in 80 Days, and nursed dreams of flying in a hot air balloon were in for a disappointment last weekend. 

Participants queuing up for the Fly to Smile event.

The Għarb local council’s first ever hot air balloon event was dampened by the strong winds, forcing the council to postpone the flights, hoping the wind would subside. 

The planned activity, titled Fly to Smile, came hot on the heels of a successful kite flying festival organised by the same council in October. But while strong winds were good for kite-flying, the same cannot be said for hot air balloons, with the professional company not willing to take any risks. 

The event was sold out in two-and-a-half hours after bookings opened last month.

Close to 1,000 people had signed up for the various 10-minute flights planned between Friday and yesterday but the strong winds ruined any plans. 

Professional company Hot Air Balloon Italy brought two hot air balloons but only one of them was actually inflated. It took off the ground from the Għarb football ground for a few metres but was brought back down due to the inclement weather.

The event, in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo, will now be held on another date. Għarb mayor David Apap Agius said the activity could not go ahead as planned, as safety was a priority. 

“Our country is very small. Abroad, hot air balloons are used to travel long distances from one place to another. In countries like ours, they operate vertical flights, which are severely affected by wind. The wind needs to blow at less than five knots for the flight to be free of any risk. In our case it was windier than that so we could not take the risk,” Mr Apap said. 

The mayor said refunds will be given to all those who had purchased tickets and did not manage to fly in the hot air balloon.

He thanked people for supporting this innovative festival which he promised will be organised again later this year.

Mr Apap later clarified that not all scheduled flights had been cancelled and a handful of flights had been done. He said safety was a top priority and that is why some of the planned flights were postponed.

On Friday, he said, school children visited the hot air balloon and had the opportunity to spend some time in the bucket and blow the flame which they found sensational.