2023 set to be ‘promising’ year for Malta International Airport, says CEO Alan Borg

Malta International Airport plc (MIA) CEO Alan Borg on Thursday remarked that 2023 is set to be a “promising” year for the airport, having already enjoyed four “excellent” opening months.

This came after the airport held its 31st Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, an event which Mr Borg notes is an “important” one in the airport’s calendar. He acknowledged that it gives MIA’s management the opportunity to meet some of its shareholders while also presenting an in-depth look at the previous year’s results.

MIA recorded a record-breaking first quarter, during which time it registered 1,245,525 passenger movements, driven by the release of pent-up demand for air travel. This was also reflected in high seat load factors (SLF) during the past months, with it increasing by 2.2 per cent over 2019 levels. The SLF for March amounted to 83.5 per cent.

This was followed by heavy traffic in April, amounting to 708,388 movements. This represents an increase of 8.4 per cent from the figure recorded in the same month in 2019, and was primarily boosted by the launch of MIA’s new summer schedule. Additionally, it enjoyed a busy Easter weekend, with 98,449 passengers passing through the airport’s doors between 7th and 10th April.

Mr Borg proceeded to thank MIA’s shareholders for attending the meeting, especially those that provided “valid feedback” when the floor was opened to questions.

“A comment that stuck with me was one of appreciation towards our efforts to remain transparent and keep investors informed, even in the midst of the pandemic when our results were far from positive,” he continued.

He added that his promise will be that MIA will continue doing its “utmost” to deliver its forecast for 2023 and to “generate value” for all its stakeholders.

“With four excellent months behind us and the summer months set to keep us busy, the year looks promising indeed,” Mr Borg concluded.

Earlier this year, Mr Borg had stated that MIA expects there to be a “levelling off” in demand as is the case when such sharp increases take place. However, he had also acknowledged that this does not come as a “major threat” to the airport, given it continues to provide its service.