Ryanair seizes Lufthansa's crown as Europe's biggest airline by passengers

Ryanair has overtaken Lufthansa as Europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers after the German carrier Tuesday reported a meagre 1.8% rise in the number of people it flew in 2016. Lufthansa's 109.7m passengers last year fell short of the 117m passengers reported by Ryanair last week, a 15% increase on the previous year, as Ryanair pulled in passengers with low prices. The year saw strong performances from other budget carriers, with Norwegian Air Shuttle reporting passenger numbers up 14% and Wizz Air up 19%. EasyJet, which suffered more than low-cost rivals from strikes in France and tourists avoiding destinations hit by attacks, grew passenger numbers 6.6%. <br/>