‘It’s A Sham’: Stranded Tourists Run To Airport To Not Miss Flight Amid ‘Unplanned’ Luqa Roadworks
Tourists who were hoping to get to the airport by bus had to end up running through the main road amid ongoing roadworks with their luggage in a race against time.
The photos were initially shared by Arnold Cassola, who said he had been given a firsthand account and photos of a group of tourists.
“Myself and a group of travellers tried to reach the airport by bus, but the all buses turn before reaching the airport more than a km away and so we had to run to not miss our flights. It’s a sham,” the tourists told Arnold Cassola.
“The time of the flintstones,” Cassola added.
They described how they had no choice but to resort to running by the side of the ongoing roadworks in Luqa for about a kilometre to not miss their flights, due to buses not being able to pass.
Later that evening, a Malta Public Transport spokesperson confirmed that routes 71, 72, 73, X3, X4, 218, 117, X1, X2, and 135 could not access Malta International Airport late on Tuesday afternoon because of “unplanned road works”.
As a result, it seems like about half a dozen buses were stuck down Triq l-Ewropa, and many others were diverted in what ended up being a four-hour disaster.
“We fully agree that this is unacceptable, and it was the result of factors beyond our control,” the statement continued.”We are discussing with the authorities to ensure that it does not happen again.”
Meanwhile, the road works in question were initially promised to be finalised by 27th April, according to Infrastructure Minister Aaron Farrugia, which was then pushed to 14th May.
However, this incident occurred on 23rd May, days after the second deadline.
Lovin Malta has reached out to the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure to obtain a comment on the matter.
Photographs: Arnold Cassola
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