Malta registered the worst travel recovery rates since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when compared to other countries in the south of Europe, Malta International Airport (MIA) said.
Addressing a press conference to unveil figures for 2021, CEO Alan Borg said the country’s ever-changing rules were to blame for the poor recovery rate.
“People don’t feel confident booking to Malta because they fear sudden changes. We need a clear plan that sets out long-term aims,” Borg said.
He urged the government to repeal a rule that makes Maltese vaccine certificates only valid for three months unless a booster dose is taken. This, he said, meant Malta was not on the same level as other European countries that have more lenient travel rules.
“It’s obvious we still need to align ourselves with what other European Union countries are doing,” Borg said.
Data released by Airports Council International showed that, at 33.5 per cent, Malta’s recovery for the period between January and November 2021 still lagged that of Southern European peers such as Greece (52.5 per cent), Cyprus (44.3 per cent), Spain (41.7 per cent) and Portugal (40.3 per cent), despite MIA’s success in retaining more than 70 per cent of its connections for 2019 throughout the year under review.
Earlier, Malta International Airport said some 850 flights had been cancelled for the first quarter of 2022. This, it pointed out, translated to some 40 routes and 30,000 seats.
According to airport statistics, the number of passengers travelling through Malta International Airport improved considerably last year over 2020 but remained well down on the pre-COVID figures of 2019.
Progress was also stalled by the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the last two months of last year, Borg said.
Giving a recap, the CEO said a total of 2.5 million passengers travelled last year, an increase of 45.3 per cent over 2020.
Ever-changing rules to blame for the poor recovery rate
But this marked a recovery of just 34.8 per cent of 2019 passenger numbers.
The top drivers of traffic for 2021 were Italy and the United Kingdom, both of which enjoyed a 19 per cent market share, followed by Germany, France and Poland.
Air travel started to gain momentum in the second half of the year on the back of increased stability and an improvement in consumer confidence, with passenger movements for the third quarter of 2021 more than tripling over the previous quarter.
October, which saw Southern European airports register improved passenger traffic results, was Malta International Airport’s best-performing month with more than 428,000 passenger movements recorded
“This can be attributed to a delayed peak in the demand for leisure travel spurred by the easing of travel requirements as the year progressed, up until the emergence of a new virus strain in November 2021,” Borg said.
“The instant impact on air travel of the introduction of tighter restrictions towards the end of the year once again highlighted that our industry’s recovery remains at the mercy of how governments respond to the changing epidemiological situation.
“The introduction of stricter and uneven entry requirements across Europe at the end of 2021 has already led to the cancellation of around 850 flights for the first quarter of 2022,” he added.
Borg urged the government to publish a post-COVID strategy, which would give the industry confidence to invest in businesses, thus contributing to an enhanced tourism offering and increasing the island’s competitive edge.
Ryanair and Air Malta were the most frequently used airlines last year.