Ryanair said it carried a record high number of passenger last month despite French air traffic control (ATC) strikes.
The Dublin-based carrier announced 20.7 million passengers travelled on its flights in July, up 3% from 20.2 million during the same month last year.
Its load factor – which represents the average proportion of seat filled on its aircraft – was stable at 96%.
Ryanair said it operated more than 113,000 flights in July and cancelled 680, primarily due to industrial action by French controllers.
French air traffic control staff walked out on July 3 and 4 in a dispute over working conditions. The strikes not only disrupted flights to and from French airports but also affected services scheduled to travel over French airspace.
Many flights to and from UK airports faced delays or cancellations as a result.
EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis previously described the French strikes as “very, very disruptive” as they forced the airline to cancel 660 flights and cost it £15 million.
Around 70% of easyJet’s flights either fly to or from a French airport or over the country’s airspace.
European air traffic management body Eurocontrol estimated the strikes affected more than one million passengers.
Meanwhile, a radar fault suffered by UK ATC provider Nats led to more than 100 UK flights being cancelled on July 30.
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
