Malta International Airport said today that it exceeded expectations last year, having handled 5,080,071 passengers, an increase of 10% over 2015.

Aircraft movements increased by 4.5% and seat capacity was up by 7.6%. At 83.3%, seat load factor climbed up by 1.82 percentage points over the previous year, signalling a marked efficiency by airlines to fill up available seats.

MIA said the data showed that the growth was mostly in the shoulder months, with November and December registering the highest spikes in passenger numbers of 22.4% and 32.2%, respectively.

The airport's current winter schedule offers the most connections yet for this period, with 18 new connections and increased flight frequencies, MIA said.

The top markets for 2016 were the United Kingdom, which saw an increase of 5.4 per cent, Italy, which grew by 15.3 per cent, Germany which grew by 8.0 per cent, France, registering a growth of 5.5%, and Spain, which registered a growth of 26.7 per cent.

Three new routes will be operated this summer, namely Bordeaux operated by
Volotea, and Cluj Napoca and Katowice operated by Wizzair.

Eurowings will be starting operations from Vienna next April. 

MIA said works on the airport terminal reconfiguration project are now in full swing. On completion the terminal will be furnished with additional check-in desks, a security area that is double its current footprint, and a new Observation Deck and La Valette Lounge on Level 3.
 
The company expects passenger traffic this year to reach some 5.2million.
Total revenue is expected to reach over €73 million. Annual taxes and dividend contributions to the government are expected to be in the region of €14 Million.