Slower recovery for Malta air travel compared to southern European counterparts

Malta air travel is recovering slower than its southern European counterparts, Malta International Airport said on Tuesday.

In July, 311,692 passengers travelled through MIA, a recouping of 39% of the July 2019 traffic levels.

According to Airports Council International data, the recovery rate in southern European countries in July averaged at 57%.

Seat capacity deployed on routes to and from Malta was just 35.5% below 2019 levels, with the seat load factor for the month measures the occupancy of the seats available, standing at 52.6% compared to 87% in July 2019.

In July, travel opportunities for the local market continued to increase with Air France launching three weekly flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. New routes to Chania and Cagliari were also added.

July also saw the UK return to MIA’s top five markets after easing travel restrictions, and several UK routes were introduced.

The UK moved up four places from June, displacing Spain and pushing Germany, France and Poland down one position when compared to June.

Italy has retained its top spot with 60,388 passenger movements.

Eurocontrol also noted that from 22 July, European traffic increased, with domestic travel still dominating passenger traffic.