Last
month's passenger movements registered an increase of 26.6%, surpassing the
half a million mark for the first time in April. Malta IAP welcomed a total of 530,576 passengers, on the back of an increase of 17.7% in
seat capacity and an improvement of 5.3% in seat load factor.
April's
strong performance partly stemmed from the Easter holiday effect, together with
the start of new operations and the extension of certain winter routes into the
summer period. The Cruise & Fly programme, which was launched at the
beginning of last month, was an important contributing factor to the growth
registered by both the United Kingdom and Germany.
The
United Kingdom retained its top spot among M.I.A.'s top five markets, followed by
Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium. Italy's growth was mainly generated on the
Catania route, following increased flight frequencies to this destination.
Meanwhile, enhanced seat capacity deployed on the Paris route and the launch of
the new Bordeaux route in mid-April contributed to increased passenger numbers
from France. Belgium was the market that registered the strongest growth,
resulting from enhanced connectivity to Brussels.
While
an average of 17,600 passengers passed through the airport every day, this figure
spiked on the 13th of April. 23,400 passengers were welcomed at the terminal on
the day, making it the busiest one of the year so far. (Source: maltairport.com, 10-May-2017)
