[WATCH] This is how the travel lockdown cleared Malta's skies

Travel restrictions because of COVID-19 have disrupted airports, airlines and the tourist industry but now it is possible to visualise this impact by looking at Malta's skies.

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) has released an animation showing how the travel restrictions have emptied Malta's skies from aircraft.

In April, passenger flights dropped by 99.6% when compared to the previous year, figures released by Malta International Airport last week showed. All air and sea travel for passengers was stopped in March by the health authorities in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19.

MIA said only 2,370 passengers were handled by the airport throughout the whole month, a rough equivalent to the number of people usually processed in an hour during a typical summer day.

Passengers used the airport for 73 repatriation flights.

According to Eurocontrol, air traffic in Malta's flight information region is down by 80% when compared to the previous year, with the airport usually handling around 350 flights on a daily basis.

A yearly comparison of airborne flights over continental Europe

A graphic released by the aviation organisation also shows the start of the slowdown in air traffic on 21 March, just days after the travel ban was imposed.

An interactive animation by EUROCONTROL also visualises the comparison in airborne flights over the European continent between April in 2019 and April this year.