Malta International Airport p l c : Approval by EU Commission
June 30, 2022 at 04:22 am EDT
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COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
Malta International Airport plc (the "Company")
Approval by EU Commission
Date of Announcement
30 June 2022
Reference
368/2022
In terms of Chapter 5 of the Capital Market Rules
QUOTE
Malta International Airport plc welcomes the news that the European Commission has approved a €12 million Maltese aid measure to compensate Malta International Airport for the losses suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This measure aims at compensating Malta International Airport plc for the material losses suffered during the period between 21 March and 30 June 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the travel ban imposed by Malta to limit the spread of the virus, which effectively closed the airport's doors to all passenger traffic, bar cargo, humanitarian and repatriation flights.
Malta International Airport registered year-on-year traffic growth in the decade leading to 2020, which culminated in a record of 7.3 million passenger movements in 2019. This figure was slashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the airport having ended 2020 with just 1.7 million passenger movements, which is roughly equivalent to the traffic handled by the same airport in the first four months of 2019. While 2021 brought an improvement of 45.3% over 2020 traffic, passenger numbers still remained 65.2% below pre-pandemic levels.
The news of the approval of this measure comes at a time when Malta International Airport plc is witnessing encouraging signs of recovery, as it works towards recovering connectivity lost during the pandemic while simultaneously investing in infrastructural projects aimed at unlocking further commercial opportunities.
Malta International Airport plc is now awaiting further information from the Government of Malta in relation to the application process to receive the above- mentioned compensation for the damage directly caused by the pandemic, as stipulated in the EU Article 107(2)(b).
UNQUOTE
Signed:
Louis de Gabriele
Company Secretary
About Malta International Airport
2022 marks 30 years since the new Malta International Airport terminal building was inaugurated, ushering in an exciting era for tourism and the local aviation industry. Between 2002 - the year when the airport was privatised - and 2021, more than 75 million passengers travelled through the terminal building.
The building, which was originally designed with the aim of eventually handling 2.5 million passengers annually, saw a record 7.3 million passengers in 2019 alone, before COVID-19 slashed this number in 2020.
The terminal's continuous evolution, particularly through an investment of more than €30 million in two extensions together with a more recent €12 million reconfiguration, and the Company's vision of service excellence, led to Malta International Airport being awarded the 'Best Airport in Europe' accolade by Airports Council International in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
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Malta International Airport plc published this content on 30 June 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 June 2022 08:21:03 UTC.
Malta International Airport p.l.c. is a Malta-based company, which is engaged in the development, operation and management of Malta International Airport. The Company has three segments: Airport, Retail and Property, and Other. The Airport Segment comprises the activities usually carried out by an airport. These services include airport regulations, aviation concessions and PRMs (persons with reduced mobility) and their associated services. The segment also includes the operations and maintenance of the terminal, runways, taxiways and aircraft parks. The Retail and Property segment includes various services that support the airport operations. The segment includes the operations of the various retail outlets within the airport perimeter, advertising sites and rental of offices, warehouses and income from the running of the VIP lounges. The Company's subsidiaries include Airport Parking Limited, SkyParks Development Limited, SkyParks Business Centre Limited and Kirkop PV Farm Limited.