3 - 9 February 2000

Busiest hour at MIA in 1999 was three days before GWU strike

by Franco Aloisio

The busiest hour at the Malta International Airport last year was between 7pm and 8pm of 17 August 1999. This was three days before the infamous strike which was ordered by the General Workers' Union on 20 August 1999.

A total of 1,552 passengers made use of the MIA on 17 August. The peak hour in terms of aircraft movements was between 3pm and 4 pm of 11 August, when 14 planes flew from and to the MIA.

This information was published this week in the MIA annual statistical review of 1999. The review clearly showed that last year was yet another record year for the airport. Passenger and aircraft movements in 1999 increased by five and six per cent respectively.

Just over 2.9 million passengers made use of the MIA, of whom 2.3 million came from the European Union. The main market was the United Kingdom, with a total of 987,992 British tourists travelling via the MIA. The UK was followed by Germany, Italy, France and The Netherlands.

The Balkan conflict reduced the passenger traffic to and from the region by 74 per cent. However this was compensated for with increases in movements to and from North Africa. The lifting of the sanctions against Libya doubled the number of passengers travelling to the North African continent and back. In April, when the air service to Libya was re-introduced, a total of 1,950 passengers travelled to and from the two countries. By the end of the year, the amount had increased to 15,000 a month.

As the results mentioned above indicate, the EU remained the main market for the MIA. Substantial increases of passengers from Northern Europe, such as Norway and Sweden, were registered.

The airports which were mainly used by passengers leaving Malta were those of Gatwick (London), Manchester, Frankfurt, Heathrow (London), Fiumicino (Rome) and Amsterdam. The airlines which made most used of the MIA were Air Malta, Brittania Airways, Alitalia, Lufthansa, Airtours International, Flying Colours, Air 2000 and British Airways. A total of 20,436 scheduled flights and 7,256 chartered flights were made in 1999.

The largest volume of passengers was registered in August with a total of 376,638 passengers, followed by July (330,702) and September (318,017). The peak day in 1999 was 21 August 1999, the day after the 20 August strikes, with a total of 137 movements and 16,490 passengers travelling to and from Malta.