A projection for sustainable development of the aviation sector in Malta 2020-2050

Abstract

Aviation has been a significant contributor to society at large and to the economy of the Maltese Islands, by promoting tourism and enabling connectivity with the rest of the world. Significant investments in infrastructure in the 1970's and 1990's have facilitated growth of the aviation sector, such that it is only recently that the airport is operating at close to its full capacity. The expected continued growth poses increasing pressures on the existing infrastructure, exacerbating adverse social and environmental impacts. Against this background, this study performs a sustainability appraisal of aviation activity in Malta, with special emphasis on the infrastructural requirements of the sector. First, an adaptation of the Delphi technique is performed through interviews with industry experts from different stakeholder groups in Malta. Together with a review of existing literature, this enables the establishment of the baseline conditions, on which sustainability issues are then defined. In addition, aviation demand forecasts are performed as a means of contextualising sustainability issues and to inform strategic objectives. The strategic objectives are benchmarked against sustainability objectives based on the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NCSD, 2006}. At this stage, sustainable alternatives are developed through an iterative process with stakeholders wriere feedback is incorporated into the design process. The study concludes with a detailed evaluation of the proposed alternatives which includes graphical representations with the aid of a GIS package, and a discussion on the implications of each alternative.