October marked the end of summer for the aviation industry and brought 771,253 passengers through Malta International Airport’s doors. This total represents an increase of 9.6% over 2019 figures.

In parallel, seat capacity saw an increase of 6.4%. Despite this increase in the seats available on flights, strong travel demand throughout October led to a monthly seat load factor (SLF) of 84.7%.

October’s top markets were Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain. While Italy (+47%), France (+53%) and Spain (+3%) outperformed their respective 2019 results, the United Kingdom’s (-17%) and Germany’s (-23%) slow recoveries continued into October.

The strong results registered between January and October together with the positive outlook for November and December gave Malta International Airport the confidence to revise its traffic forecast. The airport now expects to welcome 7.8 million passengers by the end of 2023.