• 2,370 repatriated passengers handled by airport in April
• In April, there were 73 repatriation flights to and from 8 countries
• Flights carrying freight increased by 39.8 per cent over April 2019

Passenger numbers through Malta International Airport suffered a 99.64 per cent drop in April when compared to the same month last year, further highlighting the overwhelming impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry.

While passenger traffic had already decreased significantly in March 2020, the situation at Malta International Airport continued to deteriorate in April, which was the first full month to see air traffic to and from the airport come to an almost complete standstill.

“Last April, we handled just 2,370 passengers, which is roughly equivalent to the number of passengers usually processed in an hour on a typical day in summer. The road to pre-COVID figures will doubtlessly be a long and hard one, but I am optimistic that if all stakeholders continue to pull the same rope and remain open to taking the necessary measures, customer confidence will gradually be restored and the demand for travel will recover,” said Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg.

The decline in passenger numbers for the month of April was observed in parallel with drops of 94.30 per cent in aircraft movements and 98.35 per cent in seat capacity. Seat load factor (SLF) for the month of April stood at a very low 18.8 per cent.

Following the ban of all inbound commercial flights towards the end of March, Malta International Airport continued to focus on its role in facilitating essential travel.

In April, there were 73 repatriation flights to and from eight countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Moreover, flights carrying freight registered an increase of 39.8 per cent over the same month in 2019 to total 186 aircraft movements.

Published on: 07.05.2020