Malta Airport achieves record 3.5 million passengers in 2011

Malta International Airport chief executive Markus Klaushofer today announced that the airport had achieved a record 3.5 million passenger movements in 2011, an increase of 6.5% over 2010, a record year which had then registered an increase of 12.8% over 2009.

The CEO said the company will be announcing its traffic results for 2011 in detail later on this month.

"This result was possible due to the hard work of our staff, the commitment of our airlines and all the ground work and efforts which our airline marketing department carries out in conjunction with the government and the Malta Tourism Authority," Klaushofer said.

Klaushofer added that the coming year was setting out to be a challenging one, especially as far as seat capacity was concerned.

"It is going to be an eventful year, in which we celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Terminal inauguration as well as the inauguration of SkyParks Business Centre."

Parliamentary secretary for tourism Mario de Marco, who visited MIA with finance minister Tonio Fenech, welcomed the results: "This was the result of intense marketing activities meant to register increased passenger movements with significant drops in seat capacity.

"This is also in line with our thinking that airlines should make fuller use of seat capacity. I am also pleased to note that there is a close collaboration between the MIA and the MTA especially in the development of accessibility to our country.  Whereas the MIA was awarded the Best European Airport of the year 2010, the MTA was awarded the International Routes Award 2011, for the best destination marketing and air route development. This shows collaboration between the MIA and MTA at its best."
 
Fenech commented that since privatisation, MIA had given a direct contribution to the enhancement of the Maltese tourism product as the first and last impression tourists get of Malta, while at the same time playing an important role in Malta's economic development.
 
Since privatisation, MIA has invested over €52 million in capital projects enhancing the amenities and infrastructure at the airport. Over €16 million is being invested in the construction of SkyParks Business Centre. MIA employs 300 people directly, while another 100 people work with subcontractors that operate services such as security, cleaning and some technical maintenance such as lifts and air conditioning. The retail outlets within the airport sustain an average of 200 other jobs.