On December 17, you reported "November traffic at Malta airport increased by 5.5 per cent thanks to Ryanair's new low-fare routes from Pisa and London".  

A quick look at the Malta International Airport figures for last October and November reveals that passenger movements (departures and arrivals) dropped drastically, as expected, between the two months. So, although not mentioned, Ryanair must be referring to an increase in November traffic when compared to November 2005.  

The MIA figures conveniently compare November 2006 to November 2005 traffic data.  These figures show a 5.3 per cent increase in total international passenger movements (all destinations). But can this increase be solely attributed to Ryanair, as Ryanair's Bridget Dowling states?

The passenger movements for the UK show a decrease of 1.5 per cent in the UK market, where Ryanair has a daily flight from Luton. The passenger movements for Italy (mainland) show an increase of 26 per cent, where Ryanair has a three-times weekly flight from Pisa.

However, both Air Malta and Alitalia have daily flights from Rome and other flights from Milan.  Other strong increases were registered from Germany (15.5 per cent) and other EU countries (13.2 per cent), where Ryanair does not operate. So Ryanair's claim that its flights were responsible for all the traffic increase is disingenuous, to say the least.  

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