Ryanair flew 18.7 million passengers in July, shattering previous monthly records, as Brits sought to escape the rain at home despite dangerous heat in much of Europe.
The total was up 11% from July 2022 and marked the first time the Irish carrier has flown 18 million passengers in a month. Its flights were 96% sold, the same load factor as in July 2022.
Ryanair operated 102,000 flights in the month, while 800 were cancelled, mostly because of strikes.
Peel Hunt analyst Alexander Paterson called the statistics “extremely encouraging”.
Fellow low-cost airline Wizz Air’s passenger numbers also increased, to just over 6 million, 20% more than in July 2022. It also said its CO2 emissions per passenger were down for the month, and were lower than its rivals.
Wizz also increased its commitment to London in July with a 12th aircraft at Luton Airport, a new Airbus A321neo.
It comes in a month in which many popular holiday destinations in southern Europe faced scorching temperature above 40 degrees, leading to fires and evacuations in places like Rhodes.
At the same time, the month was the sixth-wettest July on record in the UK, with an average of 140.1 millimetres of rain.
Despite the rise in traffic, Ryanair shares are down by €0.27 to €15.49 (£13.32). Wizz shares were down 1.9% to 2,336p, but are still up by 23% for the year.
