September sees 5.8% rise in airport passenger movement

September saw a total of 531,962 passengers walk through Malta International Airport, translating to an increase of 5.8% over the same month in 2015, according to figures by Malta International Airport (MIA).

The growth in September’s figures was supported by improved connectivity to Malta throughout the summer, the company said in a statement.

MIA added that seat capacity, which indicates the number of seats available to Malta, registered a 4.2% rise over last year. Moreover, at 87.5%, September’s seat load factor (SLF) experienced a growth of 1.3 percentage points, indicating that airlines were very efficient in filling up these available seats.   

Malta’s top drivers of traffic remain the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain, with all five markets registering varying degrees of growth ranging from 2% to 14%, according to MIA. “The growth of the French market mainly stems from an increased capacity to one of France’s Paris Orly airport. Furthermore, September marks Spain’s third consecutive appearance among Malta International Airport’s top five markets, following added flights on the Madrid route,” it said, adding that both Poland and Switzerland experienced a hike in passenger movements compared to 2015, amounting to 36% and 14%, respectively.

From January up until 30 September 2016, Malta International Airport said that it hosted 3,894,040 passengers, which translates to a 7.5% growth over last year. Aircraft movements also reportedly grew by 2.4% while seat capacity increased by 5.3%. The seat load factor rose to 83.4% compared to 81.7% last year.