The Malta International Airport (MIA) welcomed a whopping 2.66 million passengers throughout 2022’s peak summer months, i.e. from June to September.

Just over 650,000 of these travelled through MIA in September, earning the month a pre-pandemic recovery rate of 86.4 per cent.

July and August 2022 registered similar recovery rates; 86.3 per cent and 86.5 per cent, respectively.

Last month also marked a seat load factor (SLF) of 89.5 per cent – an increase of 3.3 per cent over the same month in 2019. For the seventh consecutive month, Italy was the most popular destination amongst travellers making their way through MIA.

The Italian market even registered an increase of 13.1 per cent in passenger numbers over September 2019.

Italy was followed by the UK, which generated 33 per cent less traffic than in 2019, and Germany, which ranked third for the first time in six months. Germany’s passenger levels remained 34.7 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, whilst the France registered an increase of 29.5 per cent over pre-pandemic traffic.

Despite said increase, the French market dropped to fourth place.

Spain, which ranked fifth, continued to recover at a relatively slow pace, with passenger traffic to and from this market remaining 18.4 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

MIA announced that its winter 2022 / 23 flight schedule, which launched earlier this week, is set to offer around 80 per cent of pre-pandemic connectivity.

A highlight of this schedule, the airport said, “is the return of flag carrier Air Serbia with a bi-weekly flight, constituting a much-welcome decision, given MIA’s efforts to maintain a healthy mix of airlines operating to and from Malta.”

The winter schedule also features up to 14 weekly flights to Istanbul – double what was offered during the winter 2021 / 22 season.

Malta will also, once again, be connected to Sweden through a bi-weekly flight to Stockholm.

Malta International Airport / Facebook