Fewer COVID-19 restrictions made October the best performing month at Malta International Airport since the outbreak of the pandemic.

But, at 429,426, passenger numbers were still 39.1% below October 2019 levels.

The airport said the decline in passenger numbers over October 2019 was registered in parallel with a drop of 28.5% in aircraft movements and a 27.7% drop in seat capacity.

Seat load factor stood at 69.3%, which translates into a drop of 13% compared to October 2019.

The United Kingdom, which simplified testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers at the beginning of October, continued to top the list of MIA’s best-performing markets, registering just over 110,800 passenger movements.

Italy, Germany, France and Spain followed with a cumulative total of 170,991 passenger movements.