MIA exceeding growth forecasts

Malta International Airport has revised its growth projections for this year to 8 percent from an initial projection of 6.8 percent, CEO Julian Jaeger said this morning.

The revision was made on the back of a a strong performance in the first half of the year which saw passenger movements grow by 14.5 percent.

He said that while MIA expected growth to continue, it would not be as strong as the first half of the year. Arrivals during the peak months of July and August are expected to match last year's record levels.

Arrivals in June alone rose by 8.2 percent compared to June last year, even though aircraft movements were down slightly.

All markets reported growth, with particularly strong performances from France and Spain. There was a drop in traffic from Italy, which is thought to be because of the surge of traffic experienced last year for the canonisation of Dun Gorg Preca.

Mr Jaeger explained that up to April, when the average growth in EU airports was 6.2 percent, Malta International Airport had reported growth of 16 percent.