FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
We invite you to search this FAQ page as your first step towards keeping informed about the new Gozo Channel (Operations) Ltd (GCOL) e-ticketing system. We understand that you may have different questions to the ones we have answered here and, therefore, we will step up our customer assistance to ensure that you are served in the shortest possible time.
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E-Ticketing for Commuters
Commuter Travel Cards
Government Departments and Entities
Business Customers
The Gozo Channel online ticketing system is currently accessible for Government Departments, Tour Operators and commuters purchasing non-subsidised tickets. Passengers can also purchase ferry tickets from Gozo Channel's passenger terminals or from the vehicle ticket booths that are situated in Mġarr (Gozo), before embarkation. Click here to access the e-ticketing platform.
Customers can buy their Gozo Channel ferry tickets online, paying with a debit/credit card. The tickets are sent to the customer's e-mail address, upon payment confirmation. The ferry tickets can be downloaded and printed OR presented on a mobile device, for validation at the Mġarr passenger terminal or the Mġarr vehicle ticket booths. Failure to present the correct, individual pre-purchased tickets in printed or digital format at embarkation points, will require that a customer purchases new tickets to be allowed embarkation.
Multiple tickets purchased online through one transaction, cannot be collectively presented for validation on a single PDF document. Every embarking passenger must be in possession of an individually printed ticket. Customers can however segregate bulk tickets saved as a PDF document into separate individual tickets, using the online tool found on the following: https://www.pdf2go.com/split-pdf , or other similar online tools. THE PRESENTATION OF ALL TICKETS AS A SINGLE PRINTED PDF or ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT ON A MOBILE DEVICE, WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR EMBARKATION BY THE GOZO CHANNEL (OPERATIONS) LTD OFFICERS.
No, Gozo Channel tickets are not associated with a specific date or a specific sailing. The ticket owner can use the ferry ticket/s for one round trip during the ticket validity period. Each standard ticket (non-subsidised) has a validity period of six months from the date of purchase.
No, Gozo Channel does not operate a reservations system. Boarding the ferries is on a first-come, first-served basis. Commuters need to queue with their vehicles at the vehicle marshalling areas, at Ċirkewwa(Malta) and Mġarr (Gozo) or wait for boarding instructions at the passenger terminals. The Gozo Channel tickets bought online or at the Company's ticket booths are not associated with any specific trip.
The pre-purchased ferry ticket does not entitle the owner to priority boarding on Gozo Channel ferries. The ticket holder must follow the instructions of Gozo Channel officers and respect all embarkation procedures set by the Company.
Children aged between 3 and 12 years, pay Euros 1.15 for a Gozo Channel ticket. The child ticket has a 24-hour validity period and can only be purchased from the Gozo Channel ticket booths. Infants aged 0-3 years travel free with Gozo Channel. However, parents/guardians of infants, must request a free ticket at the ticket booths, for validation at the embarkation points. This is the statutory requirement of the Merchant Shipping Act that enables the Company to have the correct head count of passengers carried on a specific sailing. Passengers without infants' free tickets will be asked to return to the ticket booths to collect and validate the ticket/s.
Yes, the Gozo Channel round trip tickets can be purchased either before embarkation from the ticket booths (all tickets) or online (standard, non-subsidised tickets only). Foot passengers starting their journey at Cirkewwa (Malta) will be guided by the Company personnel at the passenger terminal; Foot passengers on their start/return journey from Mġarr (Gozo) can purchase their tickets from the passenger terminal which is open on a 24-hour basis. However, validation of the tickets is only done from the Gozo foot passenger terminal, on the start/return journey. Drivers embarking with their vehicles can buy the round trip either online (standard, non-subsidised ticket for a vehicle of up to 5.3 metres in length) or ONLY from the Mġarr (Gozo) ticket booths. Vehicle/driver and car passenger round trip tickets are only validated at the Mġarr vehicle marshalling area, before embarkation.
If you lose your connection during the payment process, please send us mail on [email protected] to find out whether the payment has gone through and if the tickets have been issued. In your request, quote your name and surname, the e-mail address that you entered during the purchasing process and the date of the transaction.
If there is no confirmation email in your inbox after purchasing the tickets, check your spam/junk mail folder, in case the mail was mistakenly received in that folder. If the confirmation e-mail is not recevied at all, please call our offices on 22109000 (Monday to Friday during office hours) or send us mail on [email protected] and quote your name and surname, the e-mail address that you entered during the purchasing process and the date of purchase.
If you entered a wrong e-mail address at ticket purchasing stage, please contact us on [email protected] and quote and quote your name, surname and the e-mail address that you entered during the purchasing process.
At the end of a successful transaction, your Gozo Channel tickets and the invoice are sent to the e-mail address indicated by you at the purchasing stage.
Gozo Channel commuters can choose to apply for travel schemes, depending on the frequency of their travel. This step-by-step video explains how to apply for your new travel card. To obtain your new travel card you can directly submit an online form by clicking these links:
Daily Commuter Card Online Form or Downloadable Form
Frequent Traveller Card Online Form or Downloadable Form
You will receive your new card in your mail, at the address indicated by you in the application, or you can choose to collect it from the vehicle ticket booth 1.
Daily Commuter Card Online Form or Downloadable Form
Frequent Traveller Card Online Form or Downloadable Form
You will receive your new card in your mail, at the address indicated by you in the application, or you can choose to collect it from the vehicle ticket booth 1.
Card holders will continue to buy their frequent tavel and daily commuter cards from the Gozo Channel Mġarr offices or online. Card holders can check the balance on their travel cards by clicking on https://app.gozochannel.com/ticket-status/. Customers may send their queries to [email protected].
Gozo Channel scheme cards are time-bound and any unused trips that remain after the card validity date, are lost and cannot be refunded.
Government departments can submit an online form by clicking here, to register their details with GCOL. The Company will create an account and communicate the login and password details to the client, for online ferry ticket purchasing. There will be a limit of 60 (sixty) passenger tickets and 30 (thirty) vehicle tickets (which include the driver ticket) per single electronic transaction, in the case of bulk ticket purchasing. The step-by-step process for online ticket purchasing by Government agencies, can be viewed here. The user-manual for government offices can be downloaded here
Yes, Government Departments/Entities may purchase the Gozo Channel commercail tickets, online. It is very important that the correct vehicle ticket is selected during purchasing stage, since the commercial vehicles will be measured upon presentation of the e-ticket at the Mġarr ticket booths. The commercial vehicle fares can be viewed here
Currently, tour operators and government departments/entities can request login details from Gozo Channel, to access the e-ticketing system. Please click here
If you need a VAT receipt for GCOL ticket purchases, please ensure that you submit the online form by clicking here. This is easy to submit Company information. It will enable Gozo Channel to register your Company into the e-ticketing database. At the ticket booths, please quote the name of the Company that you listed on the registration form as soon as you ask for your ticket and our ticket sellers will issue the VAT receipt on the Company's name.
The GCOL travel schemes that benefit your Company can be viewed here. Schemes 1-8 are intended for foot passengers only and schemes 9-16 are intended for travel with a standard vehicle (up to 5.3m in length). The cards are set for different travel frequencies within a specific time period. Schemes 9-16 cards, can be issued for a driver who may embark with different standard cars OR a card may be issued with the details of a standard car and used by different drivers. The Gozo Channel travel cards are time bound and any trips that remain unused after the card validity date, will be lost.
Tour Operators who register with Gozo Channel, will receive login details to access the e-ticketing system and purchase group tickets online. Tickets can be printed by the Tour Operator on A4 paper format and validated against the turnstile validator on the return journey from Gozo. If you need to update your company data, please click https://www.pdf2go.com/split-pdf
to directly submit the information. The step-by-step process for Tour Operators to purchase GCOL ferry tickets online, can be followed by clicking here. The user-manual for Tour Operators can be downloaded
to directly submit the information. The step-by-step process for Tour Operators to purchase GCOL ferry tickets online, can be followed by clicking here. The user-manual for Tour Operators can be downloaded
Yes, Tour Operators will be able to purchase group tickets, however a limit of 60 (sixty) passengers will be set for each e-payment transaction. This is a security and logistical requirement set by GCOL.
Every tour member must have, as is the current procedure, a ticket in his or her possession to pass through the turnstiles and the embarkation gate at the Mġarr Passenger Terminal. Per current policy, a Tour Operator is responsible for providing each member of his or her tour with a ticket. Gozo Channel (Operations) Ltd emphasises that the retention of this policy is necessary for the individual safety of each tour member.
Each tour member must be individually validated through their ticket so that they are recorded on the manifest of the vessel that they are embarking on. This policy requirement ensures that Gozo Channel (Operations) Ltd can reconcile the validated tickets with the number of passengers aboard a ferry sailing in an emergency. A Tour Operator can provide each tour member with a ticket as follows – either as a printed hard copy OR as a single e-ticket forwarded to a tour member’s personal mobile device. THE PRESENTATION BY A TOUR OPERATOR OF ALL TICKETS IN A SINGLE PDF DOCUMENT ON HIS OR HER MOBILE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR EMBARKATION BY THE GOZO CHANNEL (OPERATIONS) LTD OFFICERS AT THE MGARR PASSENGER TERMINAL.
In administering the forwarding of a single e-ticket to tour members’ personal mobile devices, a Tour Operator can separate the tickets saved as a PDF document into separate individual tickets by this or a similar tool: https://www.pdf2go.com/split-pdf
Tour Operators are required to be at the GCOL terminals with their groups at least 15 (fifteen) minutes before each sailing.
Every tour member must have, as is the current procedure, a ticket in his or her possession to pass through the turnstiles and the embarkation gate at the Mġarr Passenger Terminal. Per current policy, a Tour Operator is responsible for providing each member of his or her tour with a ticket. Gozo Channel (Operations) Ltd emphasises that the retention of this policy is necessary for the individual safety of each tour member.
Each tour member must be individually validated through their ticket so that they are recorded on the manifest of the vessel that they are embarking on. This policy requirement ensures that Gozo Channel (Operations) Ltd can reconcile the validated tickets with the number of passengers aboard a ferry sailing in an emergency. A Tour Operator can provide each tour member with a ticket as follows – either as a printed hard copy OR as a single e-ticket forwarded to a tour member’s personal mobile device. THE PRESENTATION BY A TOUR OPERATOR OF ALL TICKETS IN A SINGLE PDF DOCUMENT ON HIS OR HER MOBILE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR EMBARKATION BY THE GOZO CHANNEL (OPERATIONS) LTD OFFICERS AT THE MGARR PASSENGER TERMINAL.
In administering the forwarding of a single e-ticket to tour members’ personal mobile devices, a Tour Operator can separate the tickets saved as a PDF document into separate individual tickets by this or a similar tool: https://www.pdf2go.com/split-pdf
Tour Operators are required to be at the GCOL terminals with their groups at least 15 (fifteen) minutes before each sailing.
