Passenger numbers rise at Ryanair

Ryanair passenger traffic rose by 6 per cent to over 8 million customers last month, according to new figures released this morning.

Load factor, a measure of how full the planes are, increased by 1 per cent to 83 per cent.

The airline said that in the year to the end of October, passenger traffic grew 2 per cent to 80.9 million.

Last week, Ryanair announced the introduction of eight new routes out of Shannon, a move that is expected to bring more than 300,000 new passengers through the airport every year.

The airline is reported to be in talks with a number of other airports in the Republic about plans to boost passenger numbers in and out of Ireland following the Government’s Budget pledge to drop the €3 air travel tax from April 2014.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary recently announced new measures to improve customer service on Ryanair flights following criticism.