Ryanair's passenger traffic tops pre-pandemic levels

The figure is up from May 2019, when 13.5m passengers flew with the airline. Picture: David Creedon.

Ryanair's passenger traffic hit its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic last month, rising 756% on its May 2021 figures.

Europe’s largest airline released statistics for May 2022 today, showing that 15.4m passengers had flown with them in the four week period - up by 1.2m from April.

The figure is up from May 2019, when 13.5m passengers flew with the airline.

Annual rolling traffic is also up, hitting 123.9m, a 310% increase from this time last year.

The carrier operated over 88,400 flights in May.

Passenger numbers have been steadily rising since December when 9.5m people flew with the carrier.

Ryanair said that ticket sales for December, January, and February had been affected by the Omicron wave of Covid-19, while March traffic was damaged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where it is one of the largest foreign operators.

In April, the airline said it expected losses for the financial year to range from €350m to €400m despite the strong recovery in passenger numbers.

Ryanair plans to operate a significantly expanded route network for the peak summer season, introducing 65 new aircraft to its fleet.

It expects traffic to increase to over 225m passengers, a 50% jump from pre-pandemic levels, by 2026.

Ryanair bosses said that passengers affected by last weekend's issues at Dublin Airport can rebook their flights.

The news comes as Dublin Airport - Ryanair's primary base - continues to grab headlines after 1,400 people missed their flights due to queues over the weekend.

The airport is continuing a triage queuing process outside of its terminals from today and DAA chief executive Dalton Philips said passengers could have to wait outdoors in the rain.

Philips told the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications that the DAA had not expected the rate of passenger increases from March.

Ryanair’s leaders have called for the army to be drafted in to help with the issue and said that passengers who were affected can rebook their flights.