• July grows by 5.6 per cent over same month last year
• Daily average of circa 25,700 passenger movements registered
• Germany fastest-growing market (+18.2 per cent) from top 5

TRAFFIC GROWTH

Summer getaways pushed traffic through Malta International Airport to reach an unprecedented 798,453 passenger movements in July, translating into an increase of 5.6 per cent over the same month last year.

The terminal bustled with an average of circa 25,700 daily passenger movements, which figure surpasses the number of people inhabiting Malta’s most populous town; St Paul’s Bay.

Out on the airfield, activity was not lacking, with aircraft movements increasing by 4.5 per cent to total more than 5,000 take-offs and landings throughout the month.

Seat capacity registered an increase of 5.6 per cent. Seat load factor (SLF) for the month of July stood at a healthy 87.0 per cent, with this metric indicating how much of the carrying capacity of airlines operating to and from Malta Airport was used.

TOP MARKETS

The United Kingdom (+3.9 per cent), Italy (+1.5 per cent), Germany (+18.2 per cent), France (+6.8 per cent) and Spain (+10.0 per cent) were July’s top drivers of passenger traffic.

The results registered by these five markets were partly spurred by an improved schedule for the summer months, which introduced several new routes including Cardiff, Exeter, Genoa, Verona, Lamezia and Perugia.

Other developments that contributed to the growth posted by these five markets include the extension of the Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg routes into the summer months, and increased capacity on several routes such as Rome Fiumicino, Lyon, Madrid, Valencia and Bilbao.

Moreover, the airport’s Cruise and Fly programme was a contributing factor to the solid performance recorded by both the United Kingdom and Germany.

Published on: 08.08.2019