Flights in and out of Malta over the New Year season are up by more than a quarter compared to last year, according to the airport.

About 250 flights are expected to arrive and depart from Malta International Airport on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, a spokesperson said.

“Comparing these two dates to last year, we are expecting an increase of circa 28 per cent, or around 50 additional flight movements.”

Friday and Saturday were expected to be the busiest days of the weekend, with around 25,000 passengers travelling each day.

“Italy and the UK have retained their places as Malta International Airport’s top markets during the festive season,” the spokesperson said, adding, however, that Poland had seen the highest growth compared to the rest of the year, with flights in and out of the country at least 85 per cent full.

Virtu Ferries also reported strong numbers, with its managing director, Henri Saliba, telling Times of Malta the company was “very busy with full trips from the week before Christmas to a week after the New Year”.    

He added that incoming tourism from Sicily was also looking “very strong”.

Last week, the CEO of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), Andrew Agius Muscat said a number of establishments were reporting full bookings, with New Year busier than Christmas.

Accommodation in some quarters was showing very high levels of occupancy, with one four-star hotel saying it was more than 90 per cent full, he said, describing forecasts for the season as “excellent”.

Last December, Malta received over 136,000 inbound tourists, a figure that could reasonably be expected to rise this year.

Nearly two million tourists visited the country from January to October 2022, close to the 2.6 million who arrived over the same period this year, an increase of 32 per cent, according to the NSO.