Malta International Airport contributes more than nine per cent of the island’s GDP, supporting the employment of 15,300 people and generating €660 million every year, according to a new study.

MIA said yesterday the report on the economic impact of European airports, released by ACI Europe (the European region of Airports Council International) showed that the company’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product amounted to 9.2 per cent.

The ACI Europe study takes into account direct, indirect and catalytic impacts such as increased trade, investment and tourism.

It shows that all of Europe’s airports contribute 4.1 per cent of the continent’s GDP, generating €675 billion each year.

Overall, the airports contribute to the employment of 12.3 million people, earning €356 billion annually.

“This result confirms the important contribution our company makes to Malta’s national economy. The report shows that for every 10 per cent increase in air connectivity, GDP per person in that country increases by an additional 0.5 per cent.

“This shows how constructive our efforts have been in making Malta the third most connected airport among 136 airports in its class,” the MIA’s chief executive officer, Alan Borg said.

MIA expects to handle about 4.4 million passengers this year, forecasting a two per cent growth over 2014, which was a record year.

It hosted 4,290,304 million passengers last year, up 6.4 per cent over 2013 when there were just over four million.