Airport traffic in November grew by 17.8 per cent compared to the same month last year, extending this year’s record streak to the first full month of the winter season.

These results were achieved because of an 18 per cent increase in seat capacity while retaining the same seat load factor.

Seat capacity is the number of seats available across all served routes, while the seat load factor refers to the amount of seats taken up as a percentage of the availability.

“A total of 249,133 passengers were hosted by Malta International Airport last month, breaking all previous records for November. This continues to confirm a very positive trend experienced throughout 2013, with one record month after another, even in the first full month of the winter season,” said Malta Airport CEO Markus Klaushofer.

The airport hosted more than 3.8 million passengers from January to November which marks a 10.4 per cent increase over the same period last year. The same period also saw a seat capacity increase of 10.2 per cent.

November’s success was in part due to massive growth in some major markets. Traffic from the UK grew by 14.9 per cent while traffic from Italy grew by 25 per cent. Traffic also increased in Spain, by 37.2 per cent, and Germany, by five per cent.

Meanwhile, aircraft movements increased by 18.1 per cent in November compared to the same period last year. The maximum take-off weight increased by 15.5 per cent and cargo mail increased by 2.2 per cent.