The Malta International Airport saw an increase of 181,537 passengers (5.9%) between the months of January and June, MIA CEO Alan Borg said.
Addressing a press conference where the mid-yearly report for MIA was being presented, Borg explained that the largest increases registered when compared to last year’s statistics was seen in April, where a 10.5% was noted.
March saw the lowest increase in the six months (1.3%).
Malta’s largest market remained the United Kingdom with a total of 784,285 total passengers coming to Malta, an increase of 8,811 (1.1%) over the same period in 2018, closely followed by an increase in Italy (3%), Germany (4.9%), France (9.6%), and the largest increase coming from Spain (26%).
Low-cost carriers were a driving force in increasing the number of travellers to Malta.
So much so that RyanAir saw an increase of 13.3% in traffic, growing from 1,150,605 passengers in the first six months of 2018, to 1,303,374 in the same period of 2019.
They were followed by Air Malta who saw an increase of 2.8% in passengers in the same periods.
Speaking after the presentation, Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi noted that there must be a bigger focus on bringing higher quality tourists to the country, something which is being worked on in a six-year strategy for 2025.
The busy first half of 2019 saw MIA welcome over 3.2 million passengers.
Addressing the conference, Malta Airport CEO Alan Borg noted that the airport’s performance in the first half of the year confirms the company’s confidence in its forecast of 7.2 million passenger movements expected by end of year.
Referring to the analyses published last week by Airports Council International (ACI) in its Airport Industry Connectivity Report 2019, Borg highlighted that Malta International Airport’s connectivity doubled between 2009 and 2019, putting it in the lead in a group of 26 airports in the European Union.
“These solid results stem from Malta International Airport’s constant efforts, made together with government and our main tourism stakeholders, to make sure that the islands are served by the most convenient connections all year round. The launch of three new routes this October, the extension of 17 routes from summer into the upcoming winter season, and increased flight frequencies on several routes, allow us to look ahead with confidence, whilst encouraging us to keep working on securing sustainable traffic,” Borg said.
Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi lauded the positive results registered in terms of increase in passenger traffic, commenting that these positive results reflect government's and Malta International Airport's strategy and efforts in enhancing Malta's connectivity with key tourism and business markets.
Mizzi also commented that it is positive to note that the Malta International Airport is on track to reaching its next milestone of 7 million passenger movements by the end of this year.
Malta Tourism Authority Executive Chairman Dr Gavin Gulia welcomed the positive traffic results announced by Malta International Airport for the first half of 2019, and re-affirmed the authority’s commitment to working with the airport to enhance airline connectivity to the Maltese islands with the aim of diversifying and further boosting tourism.