Over 1.8 million passengers through Malta International Airport since January

Malta International Airport has welcomed over 1.8 million passengers from in the first six months of this year. The increase registered was of 7.7 per cent, when compared to the same period last year.

Positive results were registered in all source markets, with France registering the highest growth of 17.9 per cent. The United Kingdom remains the largest market, maintaining first position with a growth of 6.7 percent. 

Significant growth was also registered by the Italian market were improved results on existing routes and traffic on new routes Parma and Venice contributed further to this growth.  Libya also showed signs of recovery during this period securing fifth place. Overall Seat Load Factor for the first six months of the year was increased by 0.5 percentage points, reaching an average of 75.6 per cent.

“We are very pleased to see a continuous positive trend in these markets, and we hope that this trend spills onto the coming summer months which are the most crucial for industry stakeholders” said Malta International Airport CEO, Markus Klaushofer.

In June, the number of passengers increased by 3 per cent in comparison to the same month in the previous year. Seat Load Factor in June was slightly lower, by 0.8 percentage points. Seat Capacity increased by 4.1 per cent. Aircraft movements increased by 5.3 per cent.

Meanwhile in June, the United Kingdom continued to lead as the biggest market, increasing its passengers by 3.7 per cent. The highest growth for the month was registered by France at 19.4 per cent, standing at the fourth biggest market. This was a direct result of an increase in traffic from Paris airports, together with the growth generated from the recently introduced route to the western French city of Nantes.

Similar to the previous month, The Netherlands remained in the same position, registering an increase of 6 per cent. Whilst the German market generated substantial increases from routes such as Frankfurt, the overall decline from this market is directly related to the fact that the Cruise and Fly operation started later.