• Summer registers 6.3% growth over last year
• For the first time, October saw over half a million passenger movements
• MIA optimistic about winter period as it eyes 5 million mark

Summer closed on a sunny note for Malta International Airport, registering 3,645,812 passenger movements, which translate into a 6.3% growth.

During the summer period, which for the aviation industry stretches from the end of March until the end of October, the airport hosted over 210,000 passengers more than it did during the same period in 2015. These figures mark Malta International Airport's busiest summer yet.

This increase was registered on the back of an upturn of 4.3% in seat capacity and an improved seat load factor (SLF), which climbed up to 85% from 83.3% in summer 2015. Moreover, a rise of 1.4% was also recorded in aircraft movements.

The top five markets for the summer months were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Poland. A spike in passenger numbers of 46% put Poland's growth well above that registered by the other four markets. While the UK and Germany both recorded an increase of 3%, the French market grew by 5% and Italy registered a more significant 11%.

"Having closed off summer with these encouraging results, we're optimistic about the upcoming winter season having recently launched our busiest winter schedule ever. With 18 new connections, our eyes are now set on hitting the ambitious 5 million passenger milestone, which would constitute a landmark accomplishment in passenger traffic for our airport," said Alan Borg, MIA CEO.

Looking back at October shows that this month grew by 10.4% over 2015 to host over half a million passengers for the first time ever.

October's list of top drivers of traffic largely reflected the one for the summer months, with the United Kingdom (4%) holding to its top spot, followed by Italy (23%), Germany (18%), France (5%) and Switzerland (25%). The varying rates of growth for these markets in October stemmed from the launch of a number of new routes, enhanced operations to destinations such as Zurich, and a better seat load factor (SLF) on flights to Amsterdam and Turkey. Moreover, an improvement of 2.5 percentage points brought October's seat load factor up to 86%.