Over 3.6 million passengers pass through Malta International Airport in summer

The summer season closed with a 6.3% growth for Malta International Airport, which registered 3,645,812 passenger movements, according to MIA statistics.

During the summer period, stretching from the end of March until the end of October for the aviation industry, the airport saw over 210,000 passengers more than it did during the same period in 2015, making 2016 MIA’s busiest summer yet, MIA said in a media statement.

This increase was registered on the back of an upturn of 4.3% in seat capacity and an improved seat load factor (SLF), which grew to 85% from 83.3% in summer 2015. Moreover, a rise of 1.4% was also recorded in aircraft movements.

MIA said that the top five markets for the summer months were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Poland. Poland, in particular, registered a 46% rise in passenger numbers, while the UK and Germany both recorded an increase of 3%, France an increase of 5% and Italy of 11%.

“We’re optimistic about the upcoming winter season, having recently launched our busiest winter schedule ever. With 18 new connections, we are set on hitting the 5 million passenger milestone, which would constitute a landmark accomplishment in passenger traffic for our airport,” MIA CEO Alan Borg said.

October

October shows a growth rate of 10.4% over 2015. October’s list of top drivers of traffic largely reflected the one for the summer months, with the United Kingdom remaining the most popular, despite only growing by 4%, followed by Italy, which grew by 23%, Germany, which grew by 18%, France, which grew by 5%, and Switzerland which grew by 25%.

According to MIA, The varying rates of growth for these markets in October stemmed from the launch of a number of new routes, enhanced operations to destinations such as Zurich, and a better SLF on flights to Amsterdam and Turkey. Moreover, an improvement of 2.5 percentage points brought October’s seat load factor up to 86%.