Malta International Airport welcomed an average of more than 18,500 passengers daily last month, the airport said in a notice posted on the Malta Stock Exchange.
MIA said traffic reached an all–time high for the month with 585,218 passenger movements. On average this equated to an additional 1,000 passengers passing through the terminal every day.
August traffic registered a 6.1 per cent increase over 2014. The average load factor was also on the rise reaching 87 per cent compared to 86.5 per cent in August last year.
“Last August was our busiest month ever, with an aircraft landing or taking off every 12 minutes. This is by no means an easy feat and marks a successful effort, not just for our Airport but for all tourism stakeholders. We will continue to work hard at developing our connectivity and contributing towards the success of our Island as an attractive touristic destination,” MIA CEO Alan Borg.
A significant increase was also noted in the number of aircraft movements and the seat capacity being deployed to MIA, which grew by 7.6 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively.
Italian routes kept registering a steady growth in passengers, with an 11.9 per cent increase over last year due to growth on the Catania, Linate, and Rome routes. This cemented Italy as the second most popular destination after the UK, which held its position as the airport’s top market. UK passenger numbers were up by 6.1 per cent - achieved through increased capacity along five British routes.
Germany and France registered a marginal drop in passenger numbers, decreasing by 1.5 and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Germany’s decrease was attributed to fewer flights to Munich. Despite increased traffic on the Madrid and Barcelona routes, the Spanish market also dropped by 7.1 per cent, due to the lost capacity from Seville.
In August, the maximum take-off weight increased by 4.8 per cent, while cargo and mail decreased by 4.3 per cent.
MIA hosted 3,120,840 passengers up to the end of August this year, a 6.8 per cent increase in traffic over last year. Aircraft movements grew by five per cent while seat capacity increased by 4.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the seat load factor has also increased considerably reaching 80.7 per cent compared to 78.7 per cent last year.