Comino visitor limit on hold as court defers judgment

A final ruling on the temporary suspension of Comino’s Blue Lagoon tourism cap has been postponed, as the court continues to consider objections raised by ferry owners.

Madam Justice Miriam Hayman heard final submissions on Monday, including those from Transport Malta, but did not specify when a decision would be handed down.

Until a ruling is issued, the Blue Lagoon will remain subject to the unregulated conditions of previous summers, with vessels permitted to disembark unlimited numbers of tourists—effectively maintaining a ‘free-for-all’.

The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) introduced the long-awaited cap on 1 May, following years of failed attempts to implement proper management of the Natura 2000 site. However, ferry operators opposed it.

Despite repeated pledges by Prime Minister Robert Abela and former Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo, environmental protections remained unenforced until this year.

The newly introduced system required all visitors to obtain a free online permit prior to landing at the Blue Lagoon.

The system, now temporarily suspended, sought to limit the number of tourists to no more than 4,000 at any one time, mirroring crowd control measures used at other sensitive heritage and natural sites, such as The Hypogeum.

However, the initiative was swiftly challenged by private ferry operators, who argued that the booking system would severely disrupt their peak-season business and result in significant financial losses.

Claiming the cap would cost them hundreds of thousands of euro in revenue, they filed a request for an injunction, leading to the temporary halt of the system.

Justice Hayman granted the provisional suspension pending a full hearing of the case, leaving the management of visitor numbers in limbo.

According to MTA figures, the Blue Lagoon saw as many as 12,000 visitors per day during peak periods last summer, leading to severe overcrowding, environmental degradation, and accumulation of rubbish.

Environmental NGOs have long decried the unchecked commercialisation of the Blue Lagoon, accusing operators of offering unauthorised services—from sunbeds and deckchairs to cocktails served in hollowed-out pineapples—while illegally occupying protected public land.