Almost 700,000 passenger movements in August, making it the airport's busiest month

An unprecedented total number of passengers have passed through Malta International Airport this month, a "noteworthy increase of 14.8%" over the same month in 2016

According to MIA, the growth in passenger numbers was achieved in line with an increase of 15% in seat capacity
According to MIA, the growth in passenger numbers was achieved in line with an increase of 15% in seat capacity

August saw an average of 22,372 travellers passing through the terminal on a daily basis, according to Malta International Airport, with the number spiking to a total of 26,359 passenger movements on the month's busiest year. 

An unprecedented total of almost 700,000 passengers passed through the airport, resulting “in a noteworthy increase of 14.8% in August’s traffic over the same month last year”.

MIA reported that the growth in passenger numbers was achieved in line with an increase of 15% in seat capacity, with a 12.9% increase in aircraft movements during August, with the runway having bustled no less than 4,624 take-offs and landings.

Despite the significant increase in available seats on flights to and from Malta International Airport, seat load factor (SLF)l, which measures airlines’ efficiency in filling these seats, stood at a healthy 88.1%.

“This is the highest seat load factor for the year so far”, they maintained.

The airport’s top 5 markets: the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain, were responsible for more than 460,000 passenger movements of the total traffic during the month. While these markets experienced varying levels of growth ranging from 8.9% to 31.5%, the number of passengers from France and Germany registered the most significant upturn.

MIA went on to say that the growth of the French market can be partly attributed to the launch of the Bordeaux and the Tolouse routes and increased capacity on the Lyon route. On the other hand, increased activity from Germany mainly stemmed from added flight frequency on the Frankfurt and Munich routes.

In the first 8 months of the year, Malta International Airport recorded just over 4 million passengers, equivalent to the airport’s full-year traffic for 2013.