Ryanair passenger numbers near 20m as Europe’s record summer kicks off

Ryanair passenger numbers neared 20m in May as what has been forecast to be one of the busiest summers on record kicks off.

Some 18.9m passengers flew with the Irish budget carrier over the month, up 11 per cent year-on-year as it operated 105,000 flights.

Load factor, which measures the proportion of seats filled, rose one point to 95 per cent.

It brings Ryanair’s 12-month rolling total to 186.9m, up nine per cent despite last year marking the beginning of a resurgence in aviation following the pandemic.

Passenger numbers soared in 2023 and some of Europe’s biggest airlines raked in record profit. Ryanair itself reported record profit and passenger numbers of £1.64bn and 184m respectively.

And this summer is forecast to be just as busy, if not more so. Heathrow, the UK’s biggest airport, has promised a “robust operating plan” as it manages record passenger numbers of 82.4m across the year.

In January, the boss of Stansted Airport, Ryanair’s primary hub, forecast “an even busier” summer for aviation as the business posted record passenger numbers over the typically quieter winter period.

However, forecasts for Europe’s low-cost airlines have been hampered by slower demand in the short-haul market.

Ryanair said in May it had been forced to sell some summer tickets at a discount, primarily due to a lack of mid-week bookings.

“Bookings for the summer are strong and our load factors are good, but we’re having to run slightly more €19.99 [£17] offers than we’d expected to fill some of those midweek flights,” it said at the time.

Europe’s largest airline had previously predicted a significant fare hike due to a collision between strong demand and constraints on short-haul capacity – largely stemming from supply chain issues at major plane makers Airbus and Boeing.

Mid-week demand is predicted to pick up as school holidays begin in July and Ryanair has said this may lead to higher prices.