Ryanair has released its latest traffic statistics report revealing that it carried 14.24 million passengers in April 2022, a 1,267% increase against 1.04 million passengers carried during the same period the previous year.
In April 2022, the Dublin-based low-cost carrier operated more than 82,600 flights with a 91% load factor, against a 67% load factor recorded in April 2021.
Ryanair also stated that its traffic numbers between December 2021 and March 2022 had been negatively impacted by Omicron restrictions and disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ryanair recorded 9.5m passengers were carried in December 2022, with 7.0m, 8.7m and 11.2m passengers carried during January, February and March 2022 respectively. The airline also recorded load factors of 81%, 79% 86% and 87% respectively during the same period.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, and its resulting airspace closures, led to the cancellation of up to 2,000 flights to and from Ukraine, Ryanair added.
According to March 2022 data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global demand for air cargo markets has dropped to below pre-COVID-19 levels.
IATA said capacity across the cargo market remains constrained and attributed the drop in demand to the effects of Omicron across Asia, the Russia-Ukraine war, and a challenging operating backdrop.
In early April 2022, Ryanair predicted that its annual net losses would fall below its previous expectations and the airline announced that it had increased its fuel hedges as high oil prices continued to weigh on airlines.
For the year to March 31, 2022, Ryanair expects an annual net loss of €350-450 million ($386-$497 million) from a previous predicted loss in a range of €250-450 million ($276-$497 million).
The airline expected a strong bounce back in demand for Easter and summer but is having to keep ticket prices low to fill its aircraft, according to a previous comment made by Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary.