Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar today notes the statement issued by Volotea in relation to the reasons for the removal of the recently announced Bilbao flight from sale on Volotea’s website.
Whilst regrettable, Volotea’s statement does not indicate that the airline has abandoned the initiative. It will continue to work on obtaining relevant permits and, to the extent that it can assist, HMGOG will continue to work with the airline to secure commencement of the service as announced.
The Minister for Tourism, Vijay Daryanani, explained that “ Whilst it is of course something of a disappointment to learn of the challenges the airline is experiencing in obtaining the permits, it is by no means the death knell for this exciting initiative. I am not about to give up on the initiative when all this is is a setback. I do not consider this the end of the matter, nor do I consider this a failure. That is what Mr Bossino would love to see happen, I’m sure. In fact, the success is in the interest that Volotea have had to seek this route and to continue to pursue it”
“In Mr Bossino’s latest interview he spends five minutes criticising me for doing all I can to improve Gibraltar’s tourist outlook – he can criticise all he wants. I’m certainly not going to stop doing all I can for the good of my home. That is the job that the people of Gibraltar entrusted me and my cabinet colleagues in preference to the tired, over critical and negative GSD”
“The record shows that – just like when it came to standing for the leadership of the GSD when the post was last up for grabs – Mr Bossino didn’t utter a word when the announcement was made, but he fell over himself to prematurely ‘dance on the grave’ of the, as yet perfectly healthy, flight initiative, just as he seems to be doing now respect of the leadership of that uninspiring party. Mr Bossino is going to have a hard time in politics as we continue to build on the strong foundations of our vaccination programme and the ongoing negotiations around the Schengen arrangements. I for one hope there will be no bad news for Mr Bossino to celebrate in the coming months – it’s just a terrible disappointment to observe his pursuit of the politics of gloating at Gibraltar’s expense. Most particularly, I look forward to him running off, with his tail between his legs, as we add more flights than ever to our route map from Gibraltar in the weeks, months and years to come. That will be the most fitting epitaph for Mr Bossino’s less than glowing career so far”
