Ryanair confirmed as Europe’s biggest airline

Ryanair has gained altitude in global rankings to confirm itself as the world’s biggest airline outside the United States, independent figures show.

Communications specialist Cirium, which provides key information to air travel, names Irish giant Ryanair Holdings, as the world’s fifth biggest carrier in its yearly world airline passenger rankings.

This ranks Ryanair as Europe’s biggest airline and the largest in the world outside the US, home to Cirium’s top four carriers: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

According to Cirium, Ryanair flew almost 120.6 million people in 2021, moving it up three places in the company’s global rankings, from eighth to fifth.

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The Irish company, led by group chief executive, Michael O’Leary, placed ahead of China Southern in sixth place and Emirates in seventh.

The next nearest European airline was Air France, in 13th place, which flew half the number of people as Ryanair last year. Lufthansa was next at 17th, with 50 million passengers.

American Airlines, the world’s number one, flew almost 237.5 million people in 2021, Cirium says.

Cirium’s report says that Ryanair kept pace with the growth of US airlines, which were the first to begin recovering from Covid travel curbs last year.

“The carrier has used its financial clout to hold down prices and stimulate demand, sacrificing yield for greater market share,” says Cirium of the Irish group’s strategy.