Malta International Airport handled 3.65 million passengers last year, up 4.1 per cent over 2011, according to Eurostat figures.

The big bulk, 3.248 million, were travelling within the European Union. Across the EU, 827 million passengers travelled by air last year, a rise of 0.7 per cent from 2011.

Looking back over a longer period, air passenger transport has increased by 10 per cent compared with 2009, the low point following the financial crisis, and by 3.6 per cent compared with 2008.

The highest numbers of air passengers last year were recorded in the UK (203 million), Germany (179 million), Spain (160 million), France (135 million) and Italy (116 million).

The largest percentage increases in passengers were in Lithuania (17.6 per cent) and Estonia (15.5 per cent) and the sharpest drops in Slovenia (14.1 per cent) and Slovakia (13.5 per cent).

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