Direct flights to USA unlikely to take off soon, says Malta airport chief

Malta International Airport has come a long way in developing its American market, but it is unlikely that any direct routes to the USA will take off any time soon, airport CEO Alan Borg says.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Borg said that a direct connection to the USA in the short-to-medium term is challenging.

“Although Malta come a long way in developing the US market, I don’t believe we have the volumes to justify a direct connection,” he said.

Borg said the airport’s strategy is to first improve connections to hubs that can facilitate American travel further, and eventually justify a direct connection with American partners.

Airport aims for 8 million passengers

Giving an overview of the airport’s full-year results, Borg said the company closed the year at 7.8 million passenger movements.

“This is an absolute record for us,” he said. “If you exclude January and February, we had a record month every single month.”

Borg said travel demand remained steady despite increased fares, general inflation, and geopolitical pressures.

In view of this, 2024 is set to be another big year for the airport, he said. “We expect to reach 8 million passengers in 2024, which translations into financial targets of €126 million in revenue, with a net profit of €42 million.”

Borg said Italy remains a strong market for the airport, with positive numbers from Ryanair and Air Malta. The UK market has slowed down, with a drop of 18% over 2019 figures. “The UK is a strong and important market for Malta, and we’ll probably see this gap reduce over the coming year and into the future,” he said.

Borg also noted a considerable drop in the German market, but this has been observed beyond Malta as well. Meanwhile, the French and Polish markets performed well with respective growth of 43% and 61%.

London Gatwich Airport was still the busiest airport with 6% growth. Indeed, all airlines except for Air Malta experienced passenger growth to this location. There was a 34% drop in passenger market share for Rome Fiumicino Airport, but was due to Ryanair moving to Ciampino in the same city. There was also a 28% drop in passenger movements to Frankfurt after Air Malta left the market, and because of travel drops from Lufthansa.

Ryanair dominates the market, experiencing a 27% increase since 2019 in passenger numbers. Air Malta’s market share dropped slightly in the same period as it operates with few aircraft.

Apron X set for 2025 completion

Works on the  €40 million Apron X project are underway, with the full project expected to be completed by 2025.

Phase 1 of the project, which will see three stands completed, should be finished by summer this year. Phase 2 will see the completion of four more stands.

New offices for ground handling should also be completed by the first quarter of 2025.

The airport is also undergoing a Terminal Expansion Project, which will entail a 1,550sqm expansion west of the terminal.

There will be a new arrivals route for everyone coming to Malta from the Schengen area, which will allow them to walk directly into the baggage reclaim area though a dedicated tunnel.

Works on the project started last year, but the extension of the reclaim area should be completed in quarter two of this year.

The airport also started works on a new VIP terminal project. “It’s a service we give to passengers coming in on private jets, people who want privacy, people who want to hold meetings soon after arriving,” Borg explained.

The airport is investing almost €5 million on the project, which will entail four lounges with exclusive terraces. One of the lounges will also have shower facilities and a meeting room.