208,896 passengers through MIA in February

Malta International Airport hosted 208,896 passengers in February, registering an increase of 8.1 per cent over the same month in 2014.

“This proves Malta is becoming more popular during the winter season,” the MIA said.

February’s results were achieved thanks to an increase in aircraft movements which translated to a seat capacity increase of 3.1 per cent over last year.

February also saw a significant increase in seat load factor, which measures the percentage of filled seats on each flight, to 75.9 per cent, compared to 72.5 per cent during the same period in 2014.

“This is another reminder that the passenger growth we are seeing in Malta is steady, consistent and year-round. This is what all stakeholders have been working towards and it is encouraging to see such excellent results being registered month after month,” CEO Alan Borg said.

He added that winter traffic so far, from November 2014 to February 2015, had grown by over 43,000 passengers, an increase of 5.1 per cent over the same period last year. The airport’s winter season officially ends on 28 March.

Nearly half of last month’s growth came from traffic to and from Italy, with an increase of 7,046 passengers and a 17 per cent up from 2014. This is mostly due to increased capacity on the Catania route and an overall seat load factor increase across most Italian destinations.

The French and Turkish markets also grew considerably compared to last year, with an increase of 35.6 per cent and 55.8 per cent respectively.

Traffic from Turkey is on an upward trend, which should continue to grow, based on Turkish Airlines’ recent announcement that frequency to Malta International Airport will increase from the current five flights a week to 13 later on this year. Growth in February was also registered in the UK (3.9 per cent) and Germany (6.2 per cent). 

Meanwhile, the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) increased by 3.3 per cent and cargo and mail also grew by 4.1 per cent.

Transaero Airlines will start operating to Malta International Airport on a Moscow to Malta route on April 26. This makes them the fifth new airline to launch operations to MIA this year, joining Finnair, Jet2.com, Swiss and Aegean.

The airport recently announced exceptional financial results for 2014. The revenue of the Group increased significantly in 2014 from €58.8 million in 2013 to €64.3 million - an increase of €5.5 million or 9.4 per cent. 

The good financial results of the Group for 2014 match those of the previous year and were driven by another substantial increase in volume of traffic.