Malta International Airport handled 5,939,436 passenger movements this year up to the end of October, putting it on track to reach its forecast 6.8 million passenger movements by year's end.

In a statement, the company said last summer was the busiest one yet, with  12.2 per cent growth in passenger traffic between April and October. There was also a 13.4 per cent increase in aircraft movements and an increase of 13.7 per cent in seat capacity.

These improvements mainly resulted from a significantly enhanced summer schedule with more than 100 destinations on offer.

“Year-to-date traffic results are quite remarkable considering that last year the six million mark was only reached on the last day of 2017. While summer has now ended, 12 routes have been extended into the winter period and more frequencies have been added on a number of routes. The months ahead promise to keep us busy, auguring well for our pledge to constantly work towards year-round tourism,” CEO, Alan Borg said.

The top drivers of passenger traffic during the summer were the United Kingdom (+14.9 per cent), Italy (+15.1 per cent), Germany (-2.3 per cent), France (+12.5 per cent), and Spain (+44.5 per cent).

Spain’s noteworthy spike in passenger movements was attributed to the launch of three new summer routes; Malaga, Seville, and Bilbao, two of which have been extended into the winter.

Last summer’s most popular destination with Maltese holidaymakers was Italy, with Catania and Rome being the most sought-after cities. 

October, which marks the end of summer for the aviation industry, grew by 8.4 per cent in terms of traffic to reach 646,559 passenger movements.