Malta International Airport hosted 392,676 passengers in April, registering an increase of 4.2 per cent over the same month last year.

April’s passenger growth is in line with the increase in aircraft movements of 4.1 per cent which translated to a seat capacity increase over last year.

April also saw growth in the seat load factor, which measures the percentage of filled seats on each flight, to 77.8 per cent, compared to 76.7 per cent during the same period in 2014.

“April’s results were an encouraging start to the busiest period of our calendar. This is also an exciting time for us because we will be finalising a series of investments worth €4 million which will be ready just before the peak season. As Malta’s only airport, we have a responsibility to keep investing in our product and continue helping Malta’s tourism industry reach its potential,” Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg said.

Most of last month’s growth came from traffic to and from Italy and Germany.

The German market increased by 11.8 per cent. This tallied to 5,836 more passengers than in 2014, largely due to the fact that the Cruise and Fly operation was launched earlier this year.

The airport also registered an increase in traffic to and from Milan, Rome and Catania which contributed to 13.9 per cent more passengers in the Italy market when compared to last year. Spain also re-entered the airport’s top market list with a 15 per cent increase in traffic over 2014.

Notably, traffic from Poland doubled in April, putting it in 6th place on the airport’s top destinations list. The British market shrank by 3.1 per cent with slight drops registered on Manchester and Gatwick flights and reduced operations on regional routes. Traffic from France was also reduced by 2.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the maximum take-off weight increased by 2.7 per cent and cargo and mail decreased by two per cent.