Ryanair passenger traffic grows despite raft of cancellations

1 million extra customers used the airline in September 2017 compared to 2016

Some 1 million additional customers used Ryanair in September 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times
Some 1 million additional customers used Ryanair in September 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times

Passenger traffic at Ryanair grew by 10 per cent to 11.8 million customers in September, in line with growth in August but slightly lower than July’s 11 per cent growth.

Some 1 million additional customers used the airline in September 2017 compared with the same period in 2016 when the airline carried 10.8 million passengers.

Ryanair’s load factor, a measure of how much it is able to fill aircraft with passengers, increased by 2 per cent to 97 per cent - the same load factor it recorded in August.

By the end of September the budget airline had carried 127.3 million customers, an increase of 12 per cent on last year.

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Again apologising for the company’s raft of cancellations in the wake of poor pilot rostering practices, Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said: “These figures include the 2,100 flight cancellations announced for September and October.

"We have now refunded/re-accommodated 98% of customers who were impacted in September and October. The remaining 2% of affected customers have yet to contact us.”

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in business