MIA registers 13% increase in passenger movements

Malta International Airport registered a staggering 13% rise in passenger movements this winter, which presents an increase of more than double the rise observed the year before when MIA registered a 5% growth.

The increase, MIA adds, is in line with the 10% rise in seats available on the market throughout the season.

Statistics show that the year was off to a good start, with 800,724 passenger movements between January and March, meaning over 100,000 more passengers welcomed at Malta International Airport this year so far.

MIA added that the quarter ended on a particularly high note, with March registering an increase of 19% over the previous year, giving the airport team a taste of the busy summer months ahead.

“March’s strong performance, with 327,524 passenger movements, partly stemmed from the Easter holiday effect, with the two weeks around Easter accounting for the movement of an additional 10,000 passengers,” a statement by MIA reads.

“These figures are the strongest indicators yet that our strategy as a nation to become a year-round destination is reaping the desired results,” MIA CEO Alan Borg said.

Borg said that securing new airlines and introducing new capacity to Malta had proved instrumental to these increases.

“These efforts are crucial in sustaining growth throughout the year, not just in the peak months, which has a whole range of positive implications for the economy and the tourism industry,” Borg said, adding that stakeholders would continue to work together to generate demand for Malta in the shoulder and winter months.

Statistics show that the top five drivers of traffic to the Maltese Islands during the shoulder months were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, and Turkey, with four of these top five markets registering varying degrees of growth due to the introduction of new routes, increased flight frequency, and a consequent growth of seat capacity, while France, on other hand, experienced a drop resulting from a capacity decrease.

“Last month also saw the unveiling of two new destinations, which enhance Malta’s connectivity with Poland and Germany, as well as the inauguration of a new airline, Volotea, and new routes to the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Greece,” Borg added.