Malta International Airport continued to register exceptional results, with year-to-date traffic through the terminal reaching 5,939,436 passenger movements. This figure indicates that the airport is on track to reaching its forecast 6.8 million passenger movements by the end of 2018, MIA said in a statement. 

Last summer, which was the busiest one yet for the team at Malta Airport, was an important contributor to this year-to-date total. A 12.2 per cent growth in passenger traffic for the summer months – from April to October – was observed alongside a 13.4 per cent increase in aircraft movements and an increase of 13.7 per cent in seat capacity. These improvements mainly resulted from a significantly enhanced summer schedule with more than 100 destinations on offer.

“Year-to-date traffic results are quite remarkable considering that last year the six million mark was only reached on the last day of 2017. While summer has now ended, over 12 routes have been extended into the winter period and more frequencies have been added on a number of routes. The months ahead promise to keep us busy, auguring well for our pledge to constantly work towards year-round tourism,” said Malta International Airport CEO, Alan Borg.

The top drivers of passenger traffic during the summer months were the United Kingdom (+14.9 per cent), Italy (+15.1 per cent), Germany (-2.3 per cent), France (+12.5 per cent), and Spain (+44.5 per cent). Spain’s noteworthy spike in passenger movements can be attributed to the launch of three new summer routes; Malaga, Seville, and Bilbao, two of which have been extended into the winter period.

Last summer’s most popular destination with Maltese holidaymakers was Italy, with Catania and Rome being the most sought-after cities. These two cities will be benefitting from four additional weekly flights each throughout the winter period, which will certainly serve to further cement their popularity with the Maltese public even in the off-peak months.

October, which marks the end of summer for the aviation industry, grew by 8.4 per cent in terms of traffic to reach 646,559 passenger movements.