Ryanair carried 11.8 million passengers across its wide-reaching European route network last month; 69% up on the total for January of last year.
However, the January 2022 passenger figure – of 7 million people – was heavily restricted by Covid travel restrictions.
Load factor – which measures the basic fullness of a plane – was up from 79% to 91%, year-on-year in January.
Earlier this week, Ryanair said a combination of strong Christmas and New Year passenger bookings and low costs pushed it to a better-than-expected profit in the three months to the end of December – the third quarter of its current financial year.
The airline posted an after-tax profit of €211m for the quarter; a turnaround from a net loss of €96m for the same period in 2021.
Passenger numbers grew by 24%, year-on-year, to 38.4 million people, with load factor improving from 84% to 93%. Ryanair’s revenues for the third quarter jumped 57%, year-on-year, to €2.31bn.
While Ryanair expects its fourth quarter to be loss making – due to Easter falling outside of its financial year this year – it has kept intact its full-year profit guidance of €1.325bn-€1.425bn.
The airline said bookings remain strong.
