Malta International Airport (MIA) registered 75,420 passengers in May, exceeding the 40,000 passenger mark for the first time in 2021.

As the Maltese islands edged closer to the reopening of travel and tourism, May passenger traffic was 88.8 per cent down compared to the same month in 2019, MIA says.

The top markets for May were Italy, Germany, France, Poland and Turkey, with the results registered by these markets being driven by the relaxation of certain restrictions on travel from Malta and the resumption of flight operations to a number of airports.

Turkey, on the other hand, remained an important connecting hub for passengers who could not travel directly to their final destination due to restrictions in place, the airport reports.

The seat load factor for the month of May, which indicates the percentage of seats occupied on flights to and from MIA, stood at 62 per cent.

However, the airport expects seat capacity deployed by airlines in June to increase by more than double the capacity for the month of May, as passenger demand is expected to gradually start recovering.