Malta Welcomed 690,000 Passengers in July, Marking Strongest Post-Pandemic Recovery

According to the figures provided by Lovin Malta, the airport recovered 86 per cent of pre-pandemic levels last month, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

In addition, the seating capacity last month was 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while the seat load factor (SLF) rose by 1.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2019 figures.

The same source reveals that last month’s SLF, which measures the seat occupancy on flights to Malta and vice versa, was at 88.3 per cent, which means it was the highest that Malta International Airport has recorded in July since 2016.

July’s figures related to the Malta International Airport show that there were recorded over three million passenger movements, which means that there has been a recovery of a total of 75 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, the following countries accounted as top Malta’s airport market leaderboards after they surpassed 2019 passenger numbers in both June and July.

• Italy
• The United Kingdom
• France
• Germany
• Spain

While the Italian market rose by 3 per cent over July 2019, the French market recorded a more significant increase of 41 per cent compared to the same period last year.

According to the figures provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), Malta has registered a total of 113,335 cases of COVID-19 infection since the start of the pandemic, while a total of 796 people have died during the same period.

Besides, the figures provided by WHO also revealed that as of July 10, a total of 1,261,102 vaccine doses had been administered.

However, authorities in Malta have abolished the majority of the restrictions imposed due to the virus, following the example of other countries worldwide, in order to facilitate the travel process.

Recently Malta International Airport stressed that it expects to welcome a total of 5.4 million passengers this year while stressing that it expects to expand its winger connections to North Macedonia and Romania,

Regarding the issue, General Director of the Ministry of Interior, Alan Borg, stressed that despite the challenges the aviation industry faces, the company is attempting to connect through 83 lines in the winter season.

“Malta International Airport expects to end the year with 5.4 million passengers, which is comparable to the traffic the airport had handled in 2016 and 2017,” Borg said.

Borg added that in the first half of this year, the company welcomed 2.3 million passengers.