Rapid pace of Ryanair traffic growth slows in November

Ryanair’s recent run of sharp traffic growth slowed a little in November as it carried 11.2m passengers. While the figure was still 10% more than in November last year, it was only 2% higher than the 11m Ryanair flew during the same month in 2019. The Irish budget carrier has, over a bumper summer season for demand, been outpacing 2019 passenger numbers by double-digit percentage levels. In October for example it flew almost 2 million more passengers than in 2019. Ryanair’s load factor climbed five points on November last year to 92%. The Irish carrier is, alongside budget rival Wizz Air, the first European airline to report passenger numbers for November. Both have been among the most aggressive European carriers in restoring and expanding capacity since the pandemic. Wizz carried 3.7m passengers in November – 23% more than it flew in November 2019 and almost 70% higher than the same month last year. Load factor stood at 88%, 12 percentage points higher than last November.<br/>