The number of commercial flights passing through Malta in August were finally in line with those registered in the rest of Europe, fresh EU data shows.

According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, the number of commercial flights through Malta in August was 14 per cent lower than 2019. This figure is identical to the EU average.

Earlier in the year, key industry stakeholders had warned the recovery of Malta’s tourism industry following the pandemic might lag behind that of other countries, especially when compared with competing Mediterranean destinations.

The latest Eurostat figures, however, show that although Malta did record lower numbers than competing destinations, namely Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus, its rate was in line with the EU average.

Of the 27 member states, only two countries – Greece and Luxembourg – registered more flights this August over the same month in 2019, before the pandemic brought the tourism industry to its knees.

Of the remaining countries that have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, Portugal had the best rate.

The number of flights passing through Portugal in August was just two per cent below that of the same month in 2019.

Spain experienced about seven per cent fewer flights than 2019, while Cyprus’s rate, dropping 13 per cent over pre-pandemic months, was only one percentage point lower than that of Malta.

In a recent review of the numbers registered during the height of summer, Malta International Airport (MIA) reported that more than 700,000 passengers travelled through the airport in August.

According to MIA, this marked the first time since 2019 that the number of passengers that travelled through the airport exceeded the 700,000 mark.

The top traffic drivers were Italy, the UK, France, Germany and Spain. The five countries accounted for 67 per cent of August’s passenger numbers.