Malta International Airport plc - April 2010 – Traffic Results

On 7 May 2010 Malta International Airport plc published the April 2010 traffic results. The statistics show a 6.6% decline in passenger departures during the month of April to 116,625 passengers (April 2009: 124,719). The airport operator explained that despite the decline in passenger movements during April, the first four months of 2010 still registered an increase of 3.6% over 2009. Passenger traffic from Italy and Spain increased by 26.3% and 33.6% respectively whilst UK, Germany and France decreased by 7.8%, 29.5% and 2.5% respectively. MIA stated that the Volcanic Ash disruption over European Traffic is reflected in the above figures given that 336 flights were cancelled between 14 to 21 April 2010 – resulting in a loss of around 35,000 passenger movements for the airport. Two weeks ago MIA’s CEO Mr Julian Jaegar stated that notwithstanding the decrease in passengers due to the Icelandic volcanic ash, MIA currently does not deem it opportune to alter its forecasts for the year. MIA is projecting a 6% increase in passengers during 2010 following the recent agreement between the Government of Malta and Ryanair for the low-cost carrier to base an aircraft in Malta as from May 2010 and service an additional 6 routes.