Malta International Airport saw passenger movements decline by more than 75 per cent last year, with air travel restrictions leading to the airport’s worst year since it was privatised in 2002.

MIA reported 1,748,050 passenger movements in 2020 - a drop of 76.1 per cent over 2019.

Airport traffic in December stood at just 10 per cent of that 12 months prior, the company said in a statement. The airport reported 46,475 passenger movements that month.

Restrictions introduced to limit the spread of COVID-19 brought global air travel to an effective halt last year. Locally, planes were grounded in the spring and while runways reopened in summer, travel has been slow to resume with airlines cancelling routes as seats remained empty.

Data made available by Airports Council International (ACI) shows that European airports in general suffered the same plight as Malta’s, with an overall contraction in passenger traffic of 79.6 and reporting the cumulative loss of over 6,000 routes.

Recovery and the way ahead Several international industry organisations are predicting that, following an extremely rocky first quarter of 2021, the tourism industry may expect to start seeing signs of recovery with the onset of the summer season for this prediction to materialise, it is imperative that, over the next weeks, measures aimed at boosting consumer confidence take centre stage. A faster vaccine roll-out should be complemented by the establishment of much-needed uniform testing regimes and travel requirements at a European level,” Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg said while highlighting that failure to act quickly in this regard could result in another lost summer with catastrophic implications for the tourism industry and the wider economy. Borg welcomed the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) recent appeal to key EU policymakers to agree on a common digital European COVID-19 vaccination certificate, which would constitute a huge stride towards the safe reopening of borders without the need for testing and quarantines. He said that this critical time should be used to put in place the technology required to scan such certificates and make entry into country as seamless as possible. &nbsp Despite the current uncertainty and shorter-term planning, MIA and the Malta Tourism Authority have remained in active discussions with partner airlines to work on rebuilding Malta’s connectivity. Stakeholder collaboration in this regard is essential for the Maltese islands to be able to enjoy connections with Europe and beyond offered by a mix of low-cost and flag carriers, he said.

Mitigation measures and guidance

Given that the first quarter of 2021 is expected to be as challenging as 2020, Malta International Airport remains committed to work actively towards the preservation of the company’s liquidity through any cost-cutting measures deemed necessary. The company’s board of directors is scheduled to meet on February 24 to conduct an assessment of the current situation, which continues to evolve. During this meeting, the board will be approving the company’s financial statements for the year ended on December 31 and discussing other items on the agenda, including shareholder dividend. While MIA generally publishes a forecast for the year in January, given the fluidity of the current situation and limited visibility of the way ahead, the company does not have sufficient data to provide the market with reliable guidance at this time, the company said.