Malta International Airport said today that it handled 402,289 passengers last month, a 6.4% rise compared to last year. It was also the first time that the 400,000 passenger mark was exceeded in May.

It said May’s figures were due to an added seat capacity of 4.9%. Seat Load factor increased by 1.1 percentage points, reaching an overall 76.5% for the month. All the additional seats deployed were translated into passengers.

“The results achieved in May reflect the commitment of the airport and key industry stakeholders who work closely together to ensure constant growth,” said Malta International Airport CEO Markus Klaushofer.

Traffic from the United Kingdom grew by 8.9%, as a result of the growth being experienced in London Gatwick as well as regional airports in the UK.

Traffic from France improved by 21.4% following the growth on Paris flights by Air Malta and the introduction of a new Transavia route from Nantes.

Growth in travel to and from Italy rose by 13.9%, retaining its place as an ever-popular European destination, while traffic to and from Germany achieved a similar result to 2013. A 9.1% increase in traffic towards The Netherlands resulted in this country featuring for the first time as our fifth top destination.

Malta International Airport also saw significant growth from emerging markets Turkey, Hungary and Lithuania.

Aircraft movements for the month rose by 6.5 per cent, which was reflected in an increase of 24,341 passengers, when compared to the corresponding period of last year.