Passengers Miss Flights Despite Fleeing Standstill Taxis To Run To Airport
A massive backlog of traffic has been the news of the day in Luqa, and it’s just escalated to unthinkable levels.
Reports are coming in of people missing their flights, while others are apparently ditching the taxis and buses stuck at the Luqa roundabout and running to the airport to arrive on time.
A post which appeared on the popular Facebook forum The Salott at 3pm gave some insight into the situation, along with some photos from across the road. “It’s been like this all day today,” one user commented, with another person saying her parents had just missed a flight.
Another person took the opportunity to throw some shade at this week’s decision to ban learner drivers from Maltese roads during peak hours, a decision which didn’t go down too well with people.
Roadworks near the airport terminal roundabout are currently being carried out, but it seems like the traffic jam they’ve cause to people heading both to and from the airport was an oversight.
A Times of Malta article also reported that at a point, there were over 200 people waiting for the bus on airport stages, also confirming the fact that both passengers and pilots were abandoning their cars and running to the terminal to catch their flights.
Transport Minister Ian Borg had announced the current roadworks on the 1st of August, with key changes including a bypass lane leading vehicles from the Kirkop tunnel to Aviation Road towards Luqa without having to access the roundabout. Another new bypass will take vehicles from Luqa to the Gudja Bypass while also not passing through the roundabout, with another lane going the other way.
The works were expected to be concluded by the end of this summer.