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European budget airlines Ryanair Holdings PLC and Wizz Air Holdings PLC on Tuesday said that passenger numbers have begun to slow after the summer season, but year-on-year growth remains strong.
Ryanair carried 15.9 million passengers in September, up 49% from 10.6 million last year. Load factor was 94% up from 81% year-on-year.
However, this is down from August, when the Irish airline recorded 16.9 million passengers and a load factor of 96%.
The company also said it operated over 88,850 flights in September, down from 92,800 flights in August.
Passenger numbers for the rolling 12 months to September surged to 153.0 million from 44.0 million a year earlier. On a rolling 12-month basis, load factor was 90% compared to 77%
The year-on-year growth in September comes despite Ryanair being faced with strike action in Spain over the summer.
The USO and SITCPLA unions called for a third wave of 24-hour work stoppages from August 8 until January 7, 2023, arguing that Ryanair has refused ‘to engage in any dialogue’. However, Ryanair said the unions only represent a small number of its Spanish crew.
For Wizz Air, passengers in September totalled 4.6 million, up 52% from 3.0 million a year earlier. Load factor was up to 87% from 79% year-on-year.
This is down from August, when the Budapest-based airline carried 5.0 million passengers and had a load factor of 91%.
Passenger numbers for the rolling 12-months to September more than doubled to 41.1 million from 15.6 million a year earlier. On a rolling 12-month basis, load factor was 85% compared to 68%.
Shares in Wizz Air were up 2.7% to 1,567.50 pence each in London early Tuesday, whilst Ryanair shares were up 2.7% to €10.77 in Dublin.
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