Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1475799
9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 AUGUST 2022 KURT SANSONE RULES allowing Valletta bars to play music outdoors until 1am are disrupting the business of boutique hotels, a top executive has warned. AX Group's Kevin Callus said there is consensus among operators of boutique hotels in Valletta that the rule changes introduced earlier this summer are giving rise to nu- merous complaints from clients. "Bars an integral part of the Vallet- ta experience and we have to learn how to live together. The type of tourist who lives in boutique hotels is not the type who will stay late at night partying. They normally go out to dine and return to the hotel at 10:30pm to rest," Callus said when interviewed on TVM Newsplus's Xtra Sajf. He added that hotels have invested in sound minimising measures but in the dead of night music can still be heard. Government published a legal no- tice at the start of summer, allowing bars and restaurants in several Val- letta streets to play music outdoors until 1am. Previously, they could only play music until 11pm. Residents have complained over the rule changes, insisting that out- door music is disturbing their peace. The legal notice does state that outdoor music after 11pm has to be played 'moderately' but this term is not qualified. Callus said enforcement was im- portant but insisted the term 'mod- erate' was too vague and open to interpretation. "It has to be defined better because as it is it is too vague." Valletta boutique hotels' clients complaining about outdoor music Malta International Airport recovers 86% of pre-pandemic traffic in July Kevin Callus THE start of the peak summer season saw Malta Internation- al Airport register its strongest recovery to date. 689,145 pas- sengers travelled through Mal- ta International Airport in July, marking a recovery of 86.3 per cent of pre pandemic traffic. Seat capacity for the month of July was at 85 per cent of 2019 levels, while the seat load fac- tor (SLF) increased by 1.2 per cent compared to the reference year. At 88.3 per cent, last month's seat load factor, which meas- ures the seat occupancy on flights to and from Malta, was the highest Malta International Airport has registered in July since 2016. Top Markets Having exceeded 2019 pas- senger numbers in June and Ju- ly, Italy continued to top Malta International Airport's market leaderboard, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Ger- many, and Spain. While the Italian market grew by 3 per cent over July 2019, the French market registered a more noteworthy increase of 41 per cent compared to the same month in 2019. This growth was largely driven by the introduction of flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly by Air France and Vueling, respectively. Year-to-year traffic July's results brought year- to-date traffic through Malta International Airport up to more than three million pas- senger movements, with this figure translating to a recovery of 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. • Almost 690,000 passengers travelled through Malta Airport in July • July's SLF was the highest the airport has registered during this month since July 2016 • Italy continued to top the market leaderboard, while France registered the strongest growth over 2019