Ryanair sees record passenger numbers in June despite French strikes

Ryanair carried a record number of passengers in June despite cancelling more than 900 flights due to strikes in France.

The budget airline said 17.4m travellers took a Ryanair flight last month – around 400,000 higher than in May and a 9 per cent jump on the 15.9m who flew in June 2022.

But the numbers could have been even higher for the Dublin-based airline had French air traffic controllers not staged a series of walkouts over pension reforms, which included raising the retirement age by two years.

Ryanair said it was ‘regrettably’ forced to cancel 900 flights in June, hitting the plans of about 160,000 holidaymakers. 

In March, boss Michael O’Leary called on the European Union to protect flights over France.

Low -cost carrier Wizz Air carried 5.3m passengers in June – an increase of 22.5 per cent on the same month last year – and around 200,000 more than May.