UK regains top spot as Malta’s largest tourism market

The United Kingdom has reclaimed its position as Malta’s largest tourism market in 2025, as passenger traffic between the two countries grew by 17 per cent year on year, accounting for 20 per cent of all movements through Malta International Airport (MIA).

Growth in UK traffic was underpinned by targeted route development by several carriers. Ryanair launched new services to Glasgow, while easyJet introduced flights to London Southend. Jet2 further strengthened its footprint by extending winter operations into the summer season and adding a new route to Liverpool.

The strong UK performance comes amid a year of balanced growth for the airport, which handled just over 10.06 million passenger movements, supported by expanded connectivity, stable load factors and continued demand across both core and emerging European markets.

Italy, Poland, Germany and France completed Malta International Airport’s top five markets for the year.

While the UK led in volume, Poland stood out as the airport’s fastest-growing market, recording a 48.9 per cent year-on-year increase and capturing a market share of almost 9 per cent. The market climbed from fifth to third place among Malta’s top source markets in 2025.

Growth was driven by expanded airline activity, including 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.

The performance of the Polish market reflects a broader shift in Malta’s tourism mix, with rising demand from Central and Eastern Europe complementing established Western European flows.

In 2025, Malta International Airport was connected to 111 destinations across 37 markets, served by 34 airlines. Four new carriers per cent LOT Polish Airlines, Qatar Airways, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Volotea – joined the airport’s network during the year.

Available seat capacity increased by just over 13 per cent year on year, while seat occupancy levels remained broadly stable, pointing to demand-led growth across the network. Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet continued to play a central role, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe, while flag carriers enhanced Malta’s links to key hubs and higher-yield markets.

Outlook for 2026

Looking ahead, Malta International Airport is forecasting approximately 10.5 million passenger movements in 2026.

Seasonality remains a key focus, with winter traffic growing by 16 per cent year on year in 2025 per cent outpacing summer growth by five percentage points. Future route development will continue to prioritise markets that support year-round demand.

Among the most notable upcoming developments is the planned launch of Malta’s first long-haul connection to North America operated by a US carrier, with Delta Air Lines set to introduce a new service to New York, further strengthening Malta’s international connectivity and tourism outlook.