Record month for Ryanair as traffic soars by 12%

Ryanair said on Wednesday that July was a record month for the airline, as traffic grew by 12 per cent to 11.3 million customers, while the load factor rose by 1 per cent to 96 per cent.

"July was a record month for Ryanair as our traffic grew by 12 per cent to 11.3 million customers and we became the first airline in the world to carry over 11 million international passengers in one month, with a load factor of 96 per cent," said Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer, adding that the growth was achieved despite yet more French air traffic control strikes and continuing post-Brexit market uncertainty.

Last month chief executive Michael O'Leary stuck to his full-year forecast, indicating that profits at the airline would rise 12 per cent to between € 1.375 billion and € 1.425 billion. The confident forecast surprised markets, particularly in light of profit warnings from IAG and EasyJet, although he did warn that post-Brexit there would be significant risks to the downside.