366,015 passengers passed through Malta International Airport in January, with the traditional top driver of passenger traffic, the UK (-3.2%) outperformed by the Italian market (-0.8%), by 604 passenger movements, followed by the German market (-8.3%), the airport said.

MIA in a statement, noted that within the top five markets, Spain registered a “phenomenal increase” of 87.2% and France grew by a healthy 12.0%.

The Seville, Malaga and Barcelona routes, which were introduced by two different airlines in summer 2018, are all being operated during the winter months, MIA said.

Traffic from Hungary was up 42.4%. MIA said that “this surge can be attributed to the extension of the Budapest route from summer 2018 into winter. The encouraging results being registered by the Hungarian market are expected to be further reinforced through the introduction of a flight to Debrecen in summer 2019.”

Malta International Airport concluded by saying that following several months of robust growth, January’s modest 4.1% increase in passenger numbers was observed alongside a 9.9% increase in aircraft movements and a rise of 7.9% in seat capacity. Seat load factor (SLF) for the month stood at 69.0%.

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