Passenger movements at Malta International Airport are forecast to increase by 6.5 per cent over last year, exceeding 3.2 million, its new CEO Julian Jaeger said yesterday.
He was optimistic that the figure would be reached by November, following on the positive results last year that saw a growth of 10.36 per cent in passenger movements (2.97 million) over 2006, significantly above the European average of 5.6 per cent.
Last year, 78 per cent of passenger movement was on legacy carriers, with 12.5 per cent on charter flights - both slightly down from 2006 - while low-cost carriers secured 9.6 per cent of the market share, up from 1.7 per cent.
While growth may have been experienced primarily by the low-cost carriers, they were considered to be "the cream on the cake" and not yet the most important contributors to overall business and connectivity in Malta, Mr Jaeger said.
Air Malta passenger movement growth was up by one per cent over 2006 and it had the highest share of traffic among the scheduled airlines, securing 55 per cent, and showing that it was still the "most important client, despite the fierce competition".
The national carrier was followed by Ryanair, with 7.5 per cent of the market share - the highest of the low-cost carriers - and British Airways, with 5.8 per cent, marking an increase of 37 per cent over 2006.
Emirates, which ranked in seventh place, showed a high increase of 26 per cent over the previous year, Mr Jaeger explained, saying it was expected to further increase its capacity, expanding to a daily flight via Larnaca in November.
Growth requires investment and MIA is spending €9 million (Lm3.86 million) on the resurfacing of runways and modification to taxiways in a four-year project that started in November, he said.
Speaking about traffic results for last year at the Hotel Phoenicia in Floriana, Mr Jaeger, who was formerly MIA's chief commercial officer, said seat capacity was up by 14 per cent over 2006.
The main markets had grown, with 10 per cent more passengers from the UK (amounting to 30 per cent of the total); 16.5 per cent more from Italy and an additional 17 per cent from Germany.
These increases were a reflection of the Malta Tourism Authority's strategy to focus on the major markets, Mr Jaeger maintained.
On the other hand, smaller markets, such as France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, declined last year, with Austria decreasing by as much as 12.6 per cent.
Spain and the Canary Islands, which had grown by 75 per cent, were expected to experience even more increases this year, with the advent of low-cost carriers.
Top destinations last year were London-Gatwick, Manchester and Frankfurt. London-Luton, which ranked in seventh place, saw a growth of 397.7 per cent. The peak day for MIA was July 31, which saw 16,044 passengers - an increase of nine per cent.On the outlook this year, Mr Jaeger said MIA was offering reductions of up to 60 per cent on its passenger service charge over a three-year period to support five identified underserved areas, which had the potential to attract new business to Malta.
They included Spain and Portugal, France (excluding Paris), Eastern Europe and the Scandinavian market.MIA has also introduced an incentive for new routes, which have not been served for the past 12 months, involving reductions of up to 40 per cent. Air Malta, Mr Jaeger said, was expected to take up new routes this year under the incentive scheme.