Air Malta had the busiest August in its 45-year history.

The national airline released figures on Tuesday to show it carried 248,358 scheduled and charter passengers during its busiest month of the year. These results top last year’s August record figures by 4,835 passengers (+2%). 

Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion said the figures followed this year’s trend, one of growth over 2018, albeit at a gentler pace.

“This year we primarily focused our efforts on improving our operational and commercial performance. A lot has been achieved through the past three years following the increase in the fleet by three brand new 180-seater Airbus A320s and a total of 25 new opened routes.

“Today we are flying to 42 destinations. It wasn’t easy. A lot of things had to change, and sacrifices had to be made. This growth is being positively received by our tourism stakeholders who are now again seeing Air Malta as a growing airline again.”

Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said the results clearly showed that the growth path embarked upon by Air Malta was bearing fruit. The airline showed it could compete and grow and the government would continue to work with all stakeholders involved in the tourism sector for further successes to be achieved.