Malta International Airport unveils ambitious plan to reach net zero carbon target by 2050

Malta International Airport today unveiled its Net Zero Carbon Plan, which outlines the company’s decarbonisation strategy and sets ambitious targets for the airport to reach carbon neutrality by 2025 and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Addressing a press conference earlier today, Malta International Airport’s Head of Sustainability and Analytics, Justine Baldacchino, explained that the company has already made significant strides in its sustainability journey, reducing emissions within its control by 31% since 2015 and steadily climbing the rungs of Airports Council International’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

“As we work towards our next two milestones of achieving carbon neutrality next year and a 65% reduction in emissions by 2030, Malta International Airport will be employing the two-pronged approach of investing in the production of clean energy and seeking opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of its facilities,” Baldacchino said.

To this end, the company is currently investing in a number of large-scale projects, including the expansion of Malta International Airport’s renewable energy portfolio through the introduction of new photovoltaic farms both at landside and at airside, the upgrading of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems within all airport buildings, and the conversion of all airfield lighting to more efficient LED alternatives.

Malta International Airport’s Net Zero Carbon plan may be found on maltairport.com/sustainability.

Over 4 million passenger movements registered in first half of 2024

During the same press conference, Chief Executive Officer Alan Borg presented the company’s strong mid-year results which led Malta International Airport to outperform Southern European peers including Italy, Greece and Spain.

Malta International Airport welcomed 4.1 million passengers in its best-performing first half to date, as passenger movements in the first six months of 2024 registered a year-on-year increase of 18.4%. March was the fastest-growing month for this period, surpassing 2023 levels by 30 per cent, followed by February (+25 per cent) and January (+23 per cent).

On the back of this exceptional growth in passenger traffic, the company reported increased income from both its aviation and non-aviation segments, with revenue for the first half of the year totalling €66.4 million and a net profit of €22.1 million.

“Following an excellent performance across all facets of our operation, we are entering the second half of 2024 in a solid financial position; one which has enabled our company to distribute its highest interim dividend to date to shareholders and continue to invest in the development of Malta International Airport,” said Borg.