Ryanair shares reach record high as passenger numbers soar

Passenger numbers at Ryanair grew by 20 per cent in December, according to new figures released.

The airline said traffic rose by 1 million to 6.02 million during the month. This compares to 5.02 million passengers during December 2013.

Load factor - a measure of how many seats are filled on each flight - rose 7 per cent from 81 per cent to 88 per cent on an annual basis.

Rolling annual traffic to December rose 6 per cent to 86.4 million customers.

The airline attributed the rise to its new customer-friendly approach, new routes, increased frequencies and its Business Plus service.