Malta International Airport plc - 2015 Traffic Results & Forecast for 2016

On 18 January, Malta International Airport plc issued a company announcement revealing the 2015 traffic results and the passenger forecast for 2016.

During 2015, MIA registered a 7.7% increase in passenger movements to a record 4,618,642 movements reflecting the 6.3% increase in aircraft movements which consequently led to an increase of 5.8% in seat capacity to just over 5.69 million seats. Furthermore, the airlines flying through Malta’s only airport also managed to register an increase in the seat load factor to 81.1% compared to 79.7% in 2014.

The Company also explained that the airport’s three major markets registered an increase in the number of passenger movements, with Italy leading the group with a 13.3% increase, followed by the United Kingdom (+4.7%) and Germany (+3.1%). Moreover, double-digit increases were also registered from Turkey (+82.7%), Poland (50.1%), Switzerland (+18.7%), the Netherlands (+16.1%), Austria (+14.0%) and Spain (+12.5%).

2016 Forecast

Following a record 2015 (the sixth consecutive year of record performances), MIA is expecting a further 2.4% growth in passenger numbers to yet another record of at least 4.73 million passenger movements on the back of additional routes from both existing and new airlines as well as increased frequencies on existing destinations.

During a press conference, MIA’s CEO Alan Borg explained that during the winter months Ryanair will introduce three new routes (East Midlands, Kaunas and Rome) whilst increasing frequencies on the Madrid route. Wizz Air will also start a new route to Warsaw and increase frequencies to and from Sofia. Similarly, Vueling, Swiss Air, SAS, and Turkish Airlines will increase frequencies on existing routes. On the other hand, NIKI will not operate during the winter season.

For the 2016 summer season, Ryanair will be introducing ten new routes and increasing frequencies on three existing routes. Easyjet will also be introducing flights to a new destination. Furthermore, Volotea will commence operations in March with 3 weekly flights to Catania and Czech Airlines will commence flights to Prague. Similarly, Iberia Express will offer flights to Madrid during the summer months. On the other hand, British Airways and Emirates will be reducing frequencies from some existing routes whilst five routes operated by easyjet, airberlin, Brussels airlines and Air France will be discontinued. The CEO also noted that the Cruise & Fly operation will be serving a smaller vessel for a shorter season than in 2015.