MIA expects winter traffic to be at 2009 levels

Malta International Airport had forecast a small increase in airport traffic in the last quarter of this year but expects winter passenger numbers to be at the 2009 levels "with perhaps some small improvements".

It said the total number of passengers this year would be approximately 7% less than 2008.

In a statement to the Malta Stock Exchange, the company said that during the second half of the year, passenger traffic improved significantly compared to the first half of the year, but it was more or less what it anticipated at the beginning of the year. For the period January to June 2009 passenger traffic was down by 10.9% over the same period last year.

The situation improved significantly in the third quarter of the year when passenger movements were down by 4.7% over the same period last year.