Ryanair and Wizz Air report surge in June carryings
Ryanair passenger numbers in grew 200% year-on-year in June to almost 16 million.
The no-frills airline operated more than 88,500 flights last month with a load factor of 95%, up 23 percentage points on June 2021.
The 15.9 million carryings compared with 15.4 million in May, 14.2 million in April and 11.2 million in March.
The June total gave Ryanair a running annual total of 134.5 million passengers, up from 35.1 million in the previous 12 month period.
December, January and February traffic was affected by Covid Omicron variant restrictions, while March numbers were damaged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ryanair.
Separately, Ryanair said air traffic control and airport staff shortages across Europe beyond its control “may cause some minor disruption”.
Any passengers whose flights are disrupted by ATC staff shortages will be notified of their entitlements by email/SMS, the airline said.
Ryanair insisted it expected “minimal, if any, disruption” to flight schedules by strikes planned by Spanish unions between July 12-28.
Meanwhile, eastern and central European budget rival Wizz Air saw June carryings rose by 179% over June 2021 to 4.34 million passengers.
The carrier revealed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to explore the potential for hydrogen-powered aircraft operations.
“The co-operation will allow Wizz Air to analyse the potential for highly efficient, ultra-low-cost hydrogen powered operations,” the company said.
Wizz Air also responded to ongoing volatility in fuel prices by returning to a “systemic” jet fuel hedge policy, aligning it to those of its peers.
