Record 7.3 million passengers passed through Malta International Airport in 2019

• Traffic through MIA up 7.4% in 2019 • 2019 marks a decade of traffic growth at MIA • Traffic in winter and shoulder months up 7.2%

Malta International Airport closed off 2019 with a record 7,310,289 passenger movements. Translating into an increase of 7.4% over 2018, the achievement of this full-year result marks the 10th year of traffic growth for the airport.

This rise in passenger numbers was observed in parallel with a 7.3% increase in seat capacity. Measuring the occupancy of seats available on flights to and from Malta International Airport, seat load factor remained unchanged from the previous year to stand at a healthy 81.8%.

This solid full-year performance was partly driven by improved flight schedules for both the winter and the summer months. During the course of 2019, in fact, Malta International Airport welcomed a new airline, inaugurated 18 new routes spanning three continents and introduced other developments aimed at further enhancing the islands’ connectivity, particularly in the off-peak months.

While growth of 7.2% was posted in the winter and shoulder months, the peak summer months saw a marginally higher increase in passenger movements of 7.6%. The fastest-growing months of 2019 were December (+15.2%), April (+10.5%), June (+8.8%), and October (+8.8%), with three of these top performers being winter and shoulder months. On the other hand, the largest contributor to full-year traffic was the month of August, registering just over 823,000 passenger movements.

The top drivers of traffic for the year were the United Kingdom (+2.2%), Italy (+3.4%), Germany (+9.0%), France (+10.8%) and Spain (+17.3%), all of which benefitted from route developments that continued to reinforce their popularity during 2019.

With another successful year having been brought to a close, Malta International Airport will soon be publishing its traffic forecast for 2020.