November traffic at Malta International Airport saw 453,563 passenger movements, an 11.8% increase over the same month in 2017.

Malta International Airport said in a statement that passenger movements peaked on November 4, the same day year-to-date traffic through MIA hit the 6 million passenger mark, surpassing the record-breaking 6.01 million passenger movements recorded between January and December 2017.

This growth was driven mainly by the launch of a robust winter schedule, the airport said, together with the extension of 12 summer routes into the winter season.

Aircraft movements rose by 10.4% to 3,357 take-offs and landings in November, while seat capacity grew by 11.5% when compared to 2017. On average, almost four out of every five seats on board were occupied, bringing November’s seat load factor up to 79.2%.

With the UK holding on to the top spot, closely followed by Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, MIA's top five markets remained unchanged.

Four of them registered significant growth in November, ranging from 7.4% in the case of the UK to 66.5% in the case of Spain.

The significant growth registered by the Spanish market is attributed to the extension of the Seville, Valencia and Malaga routes introduced in summer into the winter season, as well as the increased frequency of direct flights to Barcelona.

Germany was the only market among the airport’s top five to register a 0.8% drop in passenger movements.

MIA said the results not only reflected a successful start to the winter season but also put the airport on the path to closing the year with another record.

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