Both aircraft movements and seat capacity increased, by 8.5% and 10.1%, respectively. The seat load factor (SLF) stood at 78.1% in November.

Considering the top markets, the recently-introduced Trieste and Santiago de Compostela routes boosted the Italian and Spanish markets, while passenger movements for the United Kingdom and Germany dropped in November:

1. the United Kingdom (-1.0%),
2. Italy (+4.3%),
3. Germany (-7.4%),
4. France (+19.2%),
5. and Spain (+23.2%).

The Malta International Airport also recently launched two routes—Paphos in Cyprus and Niš in Serbia—as part of its winter flight schedule.

Cumulatively, the airport’s four new routes contributed just over 10,460 passenger movements to total traffic for November, the MLA says.

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The Malta airport tagged July’s growth as “unprecedented”, as the average daily number of passengers travelling through the hub surpasses the number of people inhabiting Malta’s most populous town; St Paul’s Bay, press statement sent to Business Malta says.

The growth was also matched by aircraft movements increasing by 4.5% to total more than 5,000 take-offs and landings throughout the month, as compared to the same month a year earlier.

Seat capacity was up by 5.6% and the seat load factor (SLF) stood at 87.0% — the metric indicating how much of the carrying capacity of airlines operating to and from Malta airport was used.

All five top markets boosting July’s traffic performed better than a year ago. The United Kingdom saw an increase of 3.9%, Italy by 1.5%, Germany by 18.2%, France by 6.8% and Spain by 10%.

The spur in figures was partly supported by an improved schedule for the summer months, which introduced several new routes including Cardiff, Exeter, Genoa, Verona, Lamezia and Perugia, the MLA says. Other developments include the extension of the Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg routes into the summer months, and increased capacity on several routes such as Rome Fiumicino, Lyon, Madrid, Valencia and Bilbao. Moreover, the airport’s Cruise and Fly programme was a contributing factor to the solid performance recorded by both the United Kingdom and Germany.

Seating area expands 10%

Having just opened a new seating area at departure previously occupied by a retail outlet, seating capacity of the airport has improved by 10%, prior to August’s “holiday rush”, according to another press statement sent to BM.

The new waiting area incorporates Maltese textures mainly through the use of limestone, which approach could likely be adopted in other parts of the terminal, MLA expects, to create a “better sense of place for the millions of tourists who pass through” the hub every day. Indeed, tourist numbers soared above 2.6 million in 2018, and expectations are high that the figure will further improve this year.

The new area has introduced two seating options catering to the needs of both travellers looking to lounge away their waiting time until departure and passengers looking to make the most of their wait by getting some work done, MLA says in the press statement. The business bars have been equipped with charging points to help business travellers quickly catch up with their daily duties prior to taking off.

The new seating area comes as but one addition to Malta Airport’s expanding infrastructure. In the following year, MLA expects to add further improvements, such as more retail space being freed up to allow for better passenger circulation and the introduction of additional seating.

Malta International Airport has also been working on finalising plans for a terminal expansion, which will see the building occupy a much larger footprint and offer better facilities as well as extended operational areas.

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Malta Airport CEO Alan Borg said that the airport’s performance in the first half of the year confirms the company’s confidence in its forecast of 7.2 million passenger movements expected by end of the year. The CEO spoke during the press conference earlier today, organised to announce the figures.

MLA figures suggest that every month in the first half of the year saw record numbers of passengers travelling through the international airport of the islands. April was the best performer in terms of traffic with a 10.5% increase as compared to the same month a year earlier. June’s 8.8% year-on-year growth closely follows as second.

Referring to the analyses published last week by Airports Council International (ACI) in its Airport Industry Connectivity Report 2019, Mr Borg highlighted that Malta International Airport’s connectivity doubled between 2009 and 2019, putting it in the lead in a group of 26 airports in the European Union.

“These solid results stem from Malta International Airport’s constant efforts, made together with the government and our main tourism stakeholders, to make sure that the islands are served by the most convenient connections all year round. The launch of three new routes this October, the extension of 17 routes from summer into the upcoming winter season, and increased flight frequencies on several routes, allow us to look ahead with confidence, while encouraging us to keep working on securing sustainable traffic,” said Mr Borg.

Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi said that these positive results reflect the government’s and Malta International Airport’s strategy and efforts in enhancing Malta’s connectivity with key tourism and business markets. Minister Mizzi also commented that it is positive to note that the MLA is on track to reaching its next milestone of 7 million passenger movements by the end of this year.

Malta Tourism Authority Executive Chairman Gavin Gulia reaffirmed the authority’s commitment to working with the airport to enhance airline connectivity to the Maltese islands with the aim of diversifying and further boosting tourism.

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Top contributors to MIA’s growing passenger numbers were the United Kingdom (+1.1%), Italy (+4.1%), Germany (+0.3%), France (+4.3%) and Spain (+15.3%), all of which registered varying levels of growth, according to the press release.

MIA saw an increase of 4.2% in aircraft movements stemming from a summer schedule offering improved connectivity as well.

In addition, seat capacity grew by 5.3%. Airlines operating from Malta International Airport were, therefore, successful in maintaining a healthy seat load factor (SLF) of 80.2% for May, the airport says.

The airport’s two biggest markets are being served by a total of six new routes this summer: Exeter (England), Cardiff (Wales), Perugia, Lamezia, Verona and Genoa (Italy).

The first four routes were launched in April and the first flights from Verona and Genoa by Volotea were announced earlier.

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Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic with a slice of 99.7% of the total; counting 77,85, NSO statistics show. However, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried an average of 3,717 passengers, which figure is 385 less than the previous year.

Passengers from European Union member states comprised 65.9% of the total traffic, with Italy, France and Germany being the main drivers. Some 19% of the total traffic was from the United States.

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With its 41.7% slice of the total quarter pie, March saw the highest number of passengers: 477,945.

The number of vehicles increased at a faster rate of 7.1% during the first quarter, as compared to the preceding year, totalling 363,460.

The number of trips was up by 3.6% to 5,449, the majority taking place in March: 2,034 — 37.3% of total trips for the quarter.

Unsurprisingly, the busiest days from Malta to Gozo were Fridays and Saturdays, while Sundays were the busiest from Gozo to Malta. Gozo’s lowest population numbers and more culturally intact nature make the island a popular holiday destination for Maltese residents.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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An 8.1% increase in aircraft movements and a 7.6% increase in seat capacity accompanied the aforementioned passenger number growth. Seat load factor (SLF) for the season stood at 76.0%, the airport says. The Maltese islands are becoming an increasingly popular destination in the off-peak months, which is in line with the tourism strategy to mitigate seasonality.

“Having an extensive route network is crucial in securing year-round traffic, but it is the unceasing efforts of our people which ensure that we can continue to provide safe and delightful airport journeys to an ever-increasing number of passengers. Whil thanking the MIA team and all airport stakeholders for their contribution to what has been a good winter, I encourage everyone to keep up the excellent work in the summer months ahead,” said Alan Borg, CEO of MIA.

With the exception of Germany — seeing a drop of 2.9%—, all of Malta International Airport’s top five markets experienced growth. Spain and France registered 63.1% and 14.7% growth respectively, followed by Italy and the United Kingdom growing by 3.3% and 0.3% respectively. Beyond the top five drivers of traffic, Slovakia, Portugal and Estonia performed exceptionally well, according to MIA.

Bringing the winter period to a close, March registered an increase of 1.3% in passenger movements, which modest increase is mainly due to the fact that the Easter holiday effect occurred in March last year, the airport says.

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