On Thursday (today), Malta International Airport (MIA) announced that construction of the second phase of the Apron 8 South, formerly known as Apron X, will be completed by the second quarter (Q2) of the year.

This project will lead to four new aircraft parking stands, in addition to the four that came on stream in 2024.

An update on the company’s key projects showed how Malta International Airport is equipping itself to handle more passenger traffic while retaining the high levels of service, with planned investments for 2025 amounting to €70 million.

Furthermore, Q2 will also see the company unveil its new VIP Terminal, which is expected to offer “a significant elevated experience to discerning guests.”

It will also be unveiling the new Schengen arrivals corridor, which leads guests directly into the Baggage Reclaim area. This area is set to undergo a refresh, receiving a modernised aesthetic for a better guest experience and seeing the replacement of existing reclaim belts with newer models.

In parallel, the company is laying the groundwork for the installation of a photovoltaic farm, which is set to generate an additional 5.1 million kWH of clean energy.

Together with ongoing upgrades in the airport’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and other energy-efficient initiatives, this farm will allow MIA to edge closer to achieving carbon neutral status.

MIA targets revenue of €147 million for 2025

During the conference, it was also revealed that the company’s Board of Directors has resolved to recommend to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) a proposal for the company to put in place a share buyback programme.

Additionally, it also shared its financial targets for the coming year. It anticipates that it will generate revenues of €147 million and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of €91 million. Furthermore, this leads to the expected earnings of €48 million in profit with €70 million planned for investment.  

Malta International Airport plc is a public company listed on the Malta Stock exchange, with its shareholders being the Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium (40 per cent), Flughafen Wien AG owning a 96 per cent share, the Government of Malta (20 per cent), the general public (29.9 per cent) and VIE Malta Limited (10.1 per cent.)

Passenger movements increase by 14.8 per cent in 2024

Last year, the airport saw 8.96 million passengers, reflecting a 14.8 per cent growth over the previous year.

CEO Alan Borg noted that this is the third-highest annual growth rate in the airport’s history.

A closer look at how the year unfolded showed that while August was the busiest month with 983,182 passenger movements, March experienced the strongest growth.

Increasing by 30 per cent over the previous year, March traffic surpassed the 600,000-passenger mark for the first time in 2024. Additionally, passenger traffic in winter months increased by 21 per cent, significantly outpacing the growth registered in summer.

Seat occupancy, which reached an annual all-time high of 86 per cent, was another indicator of a successful year for MIA.

“The solid growth witnessed last year put us in the lead among our southern European counterparts, indicating that Malta remained popular with travellers. A positive outlook for the first quarter of 2025 together with a summer schedule that is expected to connect us to 109 destinations, prime us for further growth this year. Together with other tourism stakeholders, we remain committed to addressing seasonality through the promotion of Malta’s appeal during the winter months,” said Mr Borg, whilst thanking the airport team and all stakeholders for an exceptional year.

Addressing the conference, Malta Tourism Authority CEO Carlo Micallef congratulated MIA on the record results achieved in 2024, saying that these results reflect the strong collaboration between MTA and MIA to maximise airline connectivity to Malta and ensure that adequate capacity is secured to cater for the strong demand from a wide number of markets worldwide. 

Additionally, it was revealed that Malta International Airport expects to see 9.3 million passengers in 2025.