There has been a 3.7 per cent increase in incoming passengers last month and a 4.4 per cent increase in departures, the Malta International Airport statistics for the month show.

Arrivals show a 2,000 increase on the same month last year, still not enough to top 2000’s 72,000 figure or even 2005’s 67,000 one.

There was an 11 per cent, or 6,000 increase in passenger movements to the UK and a 28 per cent increase or 4,000 passenger movements to Italy but a 47 per cent decrease of traffic to France.

Luton, which is served by Ryanair, totalled 8,300 passenger movements but Gatwick, which is not served by Ryanair, registered an 11 per cent increase to 17,000 while Manchester, although carrying a 12.8 per cent loss, still registered 10,000 passenger movements.

There was also a 29.5 per cent increase in traffic to Dubai and a 67 per cent increase in traffic to Bulgaria.