Number of Ryanair's passengers ups in April for 1st time in 14 months

Europe's largest budget airline Ryanair on Wednesday reported a monthly growth in its April passenger numbers for the first time in the past 14 months, reported Xinhua.

In April, Ryanair carried one million passengers, up sharply from 40,000 passengers it carried in the same month of last year, the airline said in a press release posted on its website.

April 2020 saw a 99.6-percent decrease in Ryanair's monthly traffic volumes, the sharpest drop in the airline's monthly passenger numbers since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company.

Ryanair did not feel the impact of the pandemic until March 2020, when the airline reported a 48-percent fall in its passenger numbers due to flight restrictions imposed in many European countries to prevent the spread of the virus.

The drop in Ryanair's March 2020 passenger numbers ended a continuous monthly growth of its traffic volumes since March 2014, the company said.

Michael O'Leary, chief executive officer (CEO) of Ryanair, said earlier this year that Ryanair expects to carry up to 70 percent of its normal passenger numbers in the coming peak summer months, which extend from June to September.

Prior to the pandemic, the number of passengers annually carried by Ryanair was close to 150 million.

Headquartered in Ireland, Ryanair mainly operates short-haul flights in Europe and parts of North Africa with a fleet of around 460 aircraft.