Malta Airport sees 2.9% increase in passengers in October

Last month, the Malta International Airport registered a 2.9% increase in traffic in October, welcoming a total of 421,726 passengers.

The total number of landings and take-offs at the airport increased by 0.5% to 2,997.

These figures were stimulated by an overall seat load factor reaching 83.9% for the month, compared to 81.6% last year.

“We are very pleased to see the airport continue to perform steadily even during the off-peak months. Malta is slowly managing to establish itself as a year-round destination, particularly among visitors from continental Europe,” Chief MIA Executive Officer Markus Klaushofer said.

The airport’s top market, the UK - representing over 28% of all traffic - saw a marginal drop of 0.8% over October last year.

France registered the largest growth last month at 25.8%, due to increased capacity on both Paris routes and the recent introduction of the Nantes route.

The other core markets, Italy and Germany, saw an increase of 8.9% and 2.8% respectively. 

Meanwhile, Switzerland established itself as the fifth major market last month, marking a growth of 20.2%. 

Between January and October this year, Malta International Airport saw an increase of 6.7% when compared to last year’s figures, hosting a total of 3,807,534 passengers.

The maximum take-off weight (MTOW) decreased by 0.3% and cargo and mail increased by 12.1%.

The airport’s winter schedule was launched on 26 October and can be viewed at www.maltairport.com/airlines.