Passenger movements at MIA up 4%

Passenger movements at Malta International Airport in October reached 346,480, the highest number ever registered in October.

The increase in passenger movements when compared to the same month last year is equivalent to an increase of 4%. Seat capacity in the same month was of 430,199, or 6.5% less than that of October 2010.

In October, aircraft movements decreased by 8.2% over the corresponding period last year, while the average seat load factor reached 80.5% - up from the 72.2% registered in October 2010.

The maximum take-off weight decreased by 6% with a total of 218,000 tonnes, while cargo and mail was 4% higher than that recorded during the same month in 2010.

The German market had a significant increase of 24%, whereas the UK market registered an increase of 2.1%. On the other hand, the Spanish, Italian and French markets all registered a decrease, with -5.6%, -4.8% and -1.7% respectively.

MIA said passenger movements in the first 10 months showed an increase of 7.3% when compared to the same period last year, totalling 3,128,418.

Once again, this positive result was mainly brought about by the strong increase in the average seat load factor despite a 2.2% drop in aircraft movements over the same period last year.