A record number of passengers commuted through the Malta International Airport last year, and traffic is expected to increase to 4.73 million passengers this year.
Three new airlines, namely Volotea, Iberia Express and Czech Airlines, will also start flying through the Maltese airport.
Last year, MIA welcomed 4.6 million passengers – up by 7.7 per cent from 2014, with the UK holding onto its market share of 28 per cent.
Topping the list with more than 1.2 million passengers, the UK market saw a 4.7 per cent increase, followed by Italy which saw a 13.3 per cent increase. Germany, which has a share of 13 per cent of the market saw a three per cent increase.
Addressing the media following the launch of last year’s results and this year’s forecast, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis noted he was “not impressed” with the marketing and connectivity with Germany. There was a lot of untapped potential, he noted.
He nevertheless commended the positive results, noting that 2015 had shown how MIA, Air Malta and the government had managed to counteract a drop in traffic from Libya and Russia caused by political developments in those countries.
The decrease in traffic from Libya and Russia was registered at 100 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.
Overall, taking into consideration passenger traffic and growth between January and November of EU airports that welcome between three to five million passengers, Malta placed sixth, preceded by Vilnius, Seville, Eindhoven, Krakow and Valencia.
MIA CEO Alan Borg said that this year Volotea will start operating from the airport in March, with three weekly flights to Catania.
Czech Airlines will fly to Prague twice a week in July and August and once in September, while Iberia Express will start flying to Madrid three times a week from the end of June until September.
Last month, the airport announced an investment of €78 million over the next five years in a major project that will see the expansion of the terminal and construction of a second business centre, along with operational upgrades.
The investment will also see the refurbishment of the airfield, which will include the resurfacing of the airport’s main apron (Apron 9) and upgrades on the secondary runway (Runway 23-05).