Ryanair's March traffic down 4%

Ryanair recorded a 4% fall in traffic during March, with passenger numbers falling to 5.5m from 5.7m the previous year.

However spokesman Stephen McNamara said the decline was in line with guidance as the airline had grounded dozens of aircraft owing to high fuel prices.

“As previously guided, Ryanair’s 2011/12 winter traffic was expected to decline by approx 5% as we sit up to 80 aircraft on the ground due to higher oil prices," Mr McNamara said.

Load factor for the month, or the number of passengers flown as a percentage of seats available, was 78%, a drop of 1% on March 2011.