More passengers and vehicles crossed between Malta and Gozo in the last quarter of 2022 when compared to a year earlier, despite the fewer trips.
A total of 9,566 trips were carried out between October and December carrying 1.39 million passengers, according to the National Statistics Office.
October was the busiest month, recording 3,325 trips or 34% of the total trips for the quarter.
Sea transport between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa
A total of 1.31 million passengers travelled between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa, an increase of 23.2% when compared to the same quarter of 2021. The highest number of passengers - 508,840 or 38.7% - was recorded in October. When compared to the previous year, the number of vehicles increased by 12.9%, totalling 485,191.
The number of trips during the fourth quarter amounted to 8,886, an increase of 4.8% over the same period in 2021 (Table 2). October registered the highest number of trips totalling 3,074 or 34.6% of total trips for the quarter.
During January-December 2022, both passenger and vehicle traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was busiest on Fridays and Saturdays. On the other hand, from the Mġarr terminal, passenger traffic was highest on Sundays and Saturdays, while the highest number of vehicles were recorded on Sundays and Mondays.
Sea transport between Mġarr and Valletta
A total of 680 trips were carried out carrying 83,370 passengers. When compared to same quarter in 2021, the number of trips and passengers dropped by 75.1% and 29.8% respectively.
December registered the highest number of trips - 258 (37.9%) - of total trips for the quarter, while October recorded the highest number of passengers, 36,926 (44.3%) for the quarter.
Annual perspective
Including both the Gozo Channel and the fast ferry services, the number of trips in 2022 went up by 2,286 (5.9%), when compared to 2021.
Vehicle movements between the islands increased by 233,186 (13.5%), over the previous year, while the number of passengers went up by 1.24 million (27.9%).
July recorded the highest number of trips totalling 3,892, while August recorded the highest number of passengers and vehicles - 634,335 and 198,795 respectively.