Ryanair passenger traffic hits new record in June

Passenger numbers at Ryanair rose to a new record last month, hitting 17.4 million in June, the airline said.

That was a 9 per cent rise year on year, and beat the previous record of 17 million that was set a month earlier. Load factor, a measure of how full flights were, was unchanged at 95 per cent.

The rise in passenger numbers comes despite air traffic controls strikes in June forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Ryanair operated more than 96,250 flights last month, and cancelled more than 900. That affected around 160,000 travellers, the airline said.

French air traffic control strikes have already disrupted millions of travellers so far this year, affecting not only flights arriving and departing in the country, but also those passing through the country’s air space.