• Winter months grew by 5.9% over same stretch last year
• November fastest-growing winter month, with an increase of 11.8%
• Airport’s summer schedule, featuring new routes and a new airline, now launched

More than two million passengers passed through Malta International Airport during the winter months; from November until March. This led the company to post growth of 5.9 per cent in traffic over the same comparable stretch last year.

This growth in passenger numbers was observed in line with an 8.1 per cent increase in aircraft movements and a 7.6 per cent increase in seat capacity. Seat load factor (SLF) for the season stood at 76.0 per cent.

The airport’s enhanced winter flight schedule was an important factor in the attainment of these positive traffic results which, yet again, serve to highlight that the Maltese islands are becoming an increasingly popular destination in the off-peak months, in line with the tourism strategy to mitigate seasonality.

“Having an extensive route network is crucial in securing year-round traffic, but it is the unceasing efforts of our people which ensure that we can continue to provide safe and delightful airport journeys to an ever-increasing number of passengers. Whilst thanking the MIA team and all airport stakeholders for their contribution to what has been a good winter, I encourage everyone to keep up the excellent work in the summer months ahead,” said Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg.

New developments and better frequencies on several routes, introduced by the winter schedule, led all of Malta International Airport’s top five markets, with the exception of Germany (-2.9 per cent), to experience growth. While the United Kingdom and Italy registered modest growth rates of 0.3 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively, at 14.7 per cent and 63.1 per cent, France and Spain registered more substantial increases.

Outside the top five drivers of traffic, other markets that performed exceptionally well included Slovakia, Portugal and Estonia. The results achieved by these three markets can be attributed to the operation of the Bratislava, Porto and Lisbon, and Tallinn routes in the winter months for the first time.

Bringing winter to a close, March registered an increase of 1.3 per cent in passenger movements. This modest increase is mainly due to the fact that the Easter holiday effect occurred in March last year. Having just launched its new summer schedule, which features several new destinations and the start of operations of a new airline, and its Cruise and Fly Programme, Malta International Airport is now looking ahead to even busier days.

Published on: 05.04.2019