Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/806571
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 APRIL 2017 News MIRIAM DALLI THE 2006 rationalisation plans approved by the Maltese par- liament must be respected, the Malta Developers Association has insisted as protests mount over continued development on the outskirts of the building zones. "While the MDA recognises that the addition of some of these sites to developable ar- eas was a controversial decision, the fact is that a decision taken by Parliament cannot in any manner be rendered null by the Planning Authority's technical committee. On the contrary, the Planning Authority is obliged to seek solutions after leaving peo- ple in limbo for so many years," the developers said. The MDA was reacting to a press conference by Alternattiva Demokratika last week in which it urged parliamentary secretary for lands and planning Deborah Schembri against the approval of the development of agricultural land at Tal-Marnisi in Marsax- lokk. The area falls within the 2006 rationalisation exercise which included the addition of building zones by 2.3%. AD in fact acknowledged the 2006 parliamentary decision, but also recalled that the then Labour opposition had voted against this type of development, as well as having formed part of the massive environmental pro- test the rationalisation exercise had precipitated. The MDA said that since the areas were approved for develop- ment by parliament, a substan- tial number of purchases of sites took place. "MDA cannot accept the atti- tude of the few that are ignoring these facts and expect the state to meddle with citizens' rights by first declaring land as devel- opable and, many years later, abruptly change the status of the same land. "A lot of money and time was invested in the proposals sub- mitted to the Planning Author- ity by means of a Planning Con- trol application." The developers went on to ar- gue that if the government were to recognise pieces of land as non-developable, then it would be obliged to pay damages to the owners who bought the land on the basis of a decision taken by the same State "that is now being asked to have second thoughts". MDA: 2006 rationalisation must be 'honoured' Early check-in advised at MIA MALTA International Airport will be launching the highly-antic- ipated Cruise and Fly programme on Thursday, 6 April. Cruise and Fly holidays allow passengers to fly from their choice of destination to Malta, where they are immedi- ately transferred to their awaiting cruise ship at the Grand Harbour. Passengers are then transferred back to the airport to catch their homeward flight. An average of 2,000 passengers are expected to depart and arrive for their Malta-to-Malta service, which means that around 4,000 people will be using the airport's facilities within a 6-hour turna- round. MIA has created a terminal traf- fic chart, available on www.mal- tairport.com/notifications/early- check-in-advised/, indicating the busiest times at the terminal over the summer season, with the aim of helping travellers plan their air- port journey better. While Thursdays will see a P&O service operated on Oceana, Sun- day's Tui Cruises services will be hosted on Mein Schiff. Over six months, some 100,000 passengers will be hosted within the Cruise and Fly programme alone. Passengers are advised to check in early, at least two hours before their scheduled departure time during the following periods, as the terminal is expected to be busier than usual on Thursdays between 07.15 and 13:00, and Sun- days between 05:30 and 13:00. Immigration and customs of- ficials, ground handlers, airlines, and the airport team are gearing up to handle the increase in pas- senger flow generated by this ser- vice, but travellers should be aware that the terminal building is likely to be busier when the Cruise and Fly programme will be in opera- tion. MIA also advised passengers to arrive at the terminal at least two hours before their scheduled de- parture as the airport's Terminal Reconfiguration Project contin- ues apace. This would allow am- ple time for check-in and security screening since longer queues may be possible. Hoarding has been erected around a section of the check-in area, directing passengers to make use of alternative routes while works are ongoing. The environmental protest prompted by the rationalisation exercise of 2006, which increased the island's development boundaries: at the time, Labour politicians, then in Opposition, jumped on the green bandwagon