MIA eyeing Eastern and Northern Europe for route expansion, says Senior VP Alex Cardona

Malta International Airport (MIA) is sharpening its route development strategy around Eastern and Northern Europe, as it looks to build on recent gains in connectivity, traffic diversification and seasonality management, according to Senior Vice President for Traffic Development Alex Cardona.

Speaking as the airport published its latest traffic and connectivity figures, Mr Cardona said future growth would come not only from the launch of new routes, but also from higher frequencies on existing services – particularly in markets where Malta has already demonstrated strong demand.

“Our focus remains on building a diversified route network for the Maltese Islands,” he said. “In 2026, we will continue to grow connectivity across Eastern and Northern Europe and Scandinavia through the introduction of new routes, alongside the addition of weekly frequencies on a number of existing services.”

In 2025, Malta International Airport was connected to 111 destinations across 37 markets, served by 34 airlines, reflecting years of deliberate network diversification. Four new carriers – LOT Polish Airlines, Qatar Airways, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Volotea – joined the airport’s portfolio during the year, reinforcing its mix of low-cost and full-service operators.

This approach enabled MIA to handle just over 10.06 million passenger movements, as seat capacity increased by slightly more than 13 per cent year on year while load factors remained broadly stable. For airport management, this balance is critical: it signals sustainable growth rather than short-term volume expansion.

Low-cost carriers continued to play a central role in expanding reach, with Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet increasing frequencies and opening new routes – particularly to Northern and Eastern European cities. At the same time, the airport strengthened its flag-carrier presence, enhancing connectivity to global hubs and higher-yield traffic streams.

Nowhere is this strategy clearer than in the Polish market, which emerged as Malta International Airport’s fastest-growing source market in 2025. Passenger traffic from Poland rose by 48.9 per cent year-on-year, pushing its market share to almost 9 per cent and elevating it from fifth to third place among Malta’s top markets.

Growth was supported by LOT Polish Airlines’ return with four weekly services to Warsaw, Ryanair’s bi-weekly summer flights to Rzeszów, and Wizz Air’s expansion of its Warsaw route from six weekly flights to daily operations.

For MIA, Poland’s performance has become a blueprint for further expansion into colder-climate countries, where demand for winter sun destinations can help smooth seasonal peaks.

In fact, winter traffic grew by 16 per cent year-on-year, outpacing growth in the summer months by 5 percentage points.

Meanwhile, the UK regained its role as Malta’s top source market in 2025, growing by 17 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 20 per cent of total traffic. The performance was driven by targeted route development, including Ryanair’s launch of services to Glasgow, easyJet’s introduction of flights to London Southend, and Jet2’s expansion of winter operations into the summer season, alongside a new Liverpool route.

Italy, Germany and France completed the airport’s top five markets.