Passenger traffic throughout the winter season increased by 4.5 per cent, Malta International Airport said today.

It said Malta gained more than 52,000 passengers between November and March over the same period a year earlier.

In the first quarter this year, passenger movements registered an increase of 5.6 per cent, while aircraft movements grew by 1.4 per cent.

Passenger traffic in March grew by 4.5 per cent, reaching a record of 275,334 passenger movements.

This was brought about by a 1.6 per cent increase in aircraft movements which translated into an increase of 2.2 per cent seat capacity.

The average seat load factor, which measures the percentage of filled seats on each flight reached 79.9 per cent.

The UK and Italian markets grew again last month by 9.6 and 9.8 per cent, respectively. The German market shrunk by 7.4 per cent, due to reduced capacity on the Frankfurt route, and the French market grew by 2.7 per cent. Traffic from Turkey also rose significantly with a 74.4 per cent increase over 2014.

The maximum take-off weight and cargo and mail decreased by 0.4 per cent and 5.2 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc continued to invest in its infrastructure and will this month complete a €1 million project rehabilitating and resurfacing pavements on Taxiway Charlie.