Wizz Air closes the gap on Ryanair in battle for returning passengers

Irish airline bounced back to carry 11m passengers in August but Hungarian operator is narrowing the gap, having carried 3.6m

Ryanair saw an expected huge surge in passenger numbers in August, but smaller rivals are beginning to close the gap on Europe's dominant low-cost carrier according to latest traffic figures.

Ryanair carried just over 11m passengers across its European route network last month — 57% more than in August of last year — but Hungarian rival Wizz is closing the gap in the low fares airline market according to latest traffic figures.

Ryanair said it operated over 71,000 flights in August, with a load factor — which accurately measures actual seats filled on planes — of 82%. In all, it carried 11.1m passengers across its brands versus just 7m in August of last year.