Malta International Airport welcomed more than 3.2 million passengers in the first half of 2019. The company’s mid-year traffic results show an increase of 5.9 per cent in passenger movements over the same period last year.

The airport forecasts 7.2 million passenger movements by the end of the year.

While record passenger numbers were registered every month in 2019 so far, April, with a 10.5 per cent increase in traffic, was the fastest-growing month for the period. This was followed by June, which registered an upturn of 8.8 per cent.

According to the analysis published last week by Airports Council International in its Airport Industry Connectivity Report 2019, MIA connectivity doubled between 2009 and 2019, putting it in the lead in a group of 26 airports in the European Union.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, CEO Alan Borg said the solid results stemmed from Malta International Airport’s constant efforts, made together with government and the main tourism stakeholders, to make sure that the islands were served by the most convenient connections all year round.

The launch of three new routes this October, the extension of 17 routes from summer into the upcoming winter season, and increased flight frequencies on several routes, allowed the airport to look ahead with confidence and to keep working to secure sustainable traffic, Mr Borg said.

He said Brexit affected passenger movements during the first quarter. The UK remained the largest market, despite Brexit causing some ‘consumer confidence” in travelling.

Speaking at a press conference on the results, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said the airport planned on attracting more business-class and leisure travel.

“We want to attract tourists who will spend more money,” Dr Mizzi said.

In the coming months, we will be sitting down with Ryanair to discuss where MaltaAir will be travelling to. The agreement will ensure that the low-cost airline will have a more permanent stay in Malta, he said.