Passenger movements at the airport last month jumped 23 per cent over January 2007, from 127,003 to 156,440.

Aircraft movements increased by 16 per cent, from 1,459 to 1,694 movements, while cargo and mail is up 25 per cent with 1,538 tonnes being handled at MIA last January.

The seat capacity increased by over 20 per cent to 263,313 and the average seat load factor was of 1.3 per cent more than in January 2007. All the main markets registered substantial growth, with Spain becoming the fourth most important market last month. The majority of passengers - 37.1 per cent - travelled to and from the United Kingdom while Italy had a market share of 19.9 per cent, followed by Germany (16 per cent), Spain (3.7 per cent) and France (2.8 per cent).

Traffic to MIA originated from 30 airports in 25 countries while the peak day was on January 3 with 77 aircraft movements and 9,012 passengers handled, Malta International Airport said.

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