August’s passenger movements at Malta International Airport exceeded the 700,000 mark for the first time since 2019, the airport said in an announcement on the Malta Stock Exchange.

It said  712,122 passengers travelled through the airport, marking a recovery of 86.5% of pre-pandemic traffic.

This result was registered on the back of a recovery of 84.2% in seat capacity.

The seat load factor, measuring the occupancy of the seats available on flights operated to and from Malta, reached an all-time high of 90.4%, translating to an increase of 2.4% compared to August 2019.

The peak in traffic observed on August 21 was followed by a shift brought about by some drops in the load factors as the month’s holiday rush slowed down.

Top markets

The top traffic drivers were Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain, cumulatively accounting for 67% of August’s passenger numbers.

While the United Kingdom and Germany featured among the top five markets, the number of passengers travelling to and from these markets remained significantly below 2019 levels.

On the other hand, a look at the top 10 markets for August reveals that Italy, France, Poland, Switzerland, Greece and Austria all registered different levels of growth over the reference year.

At 44%, the Greek market registered the most significant growth, which was driven by solid connections to three airports offered by two airlines.

France was the second fastest-growing market with an increase of 34% in passenger movements.

Malta International Airport is currently connected to nine French airports through flights operated by five airlines.