Ryanair passenger figures up 13%

IRISH budget airline Ryanair carried 5.84 million passengers last month — 13% more than a year earlier.

Load factor — a measure of how well it fills planes — climbed to 85% from 84% in the same month of 2008, Europe’s biggest carrier by passenger numbers said.

Ryanair Holdings is now interested in offering domestic flights in Portugal between the cities of Lisbon, Oporto and Faro, Portuguese newspaper Diario Economico reported, citing deputy chief executive Michael Cawley.