September was the third consecutive month during which Malta International Airport saw more than 800,000 passengers, the MIA said in a statement. Traffic for September totalled 812,176 passenger movements, translating into an increase of 6.5 per cent over 2019 figures.
This growth was registered on the back of an increase of 3.0 per cent in seat capacity compared to 2019. Despite this increase, at 89.2 per cent, the monthly seat load factor (SLF) remained high, indicating that travel demand did not wane.
There were no surprises in the top five markets, with Italy remaining at the top, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain. Cumulatively, the top five markets accounted for 66 per cent of September’s total traffic.
While Italy (+48.7 per cent) and France (+46.4 per cent) registered significant growth over 2019, the United Kingdom (-19.1 per cent) and Germany (-23.8 per cent) fared worse than they had in 2019, and Spain registered a minimal drop of 0.1%.
Winter (November 23 – March 24) flight schedule
October is the last summer month for the aviation industry, and Malta International Airport has just published its new flight schedule for the upcoming winter season here. The schedule features direct flights to 30 different markets, and several already-popular routes, including Vienna, Marseille, Edinburgh, Warsaw and Zagreb, will benefit from increased flight frequencies.