European LCC Ryanair has reported that is carried 19.3m passengers in June, making it the busiest month in the airline’s 40 year history and beating its previous record of 18.9m in August 2023. The figure is also an 11% YoY increase compared with June 2023 and the average load factor remained high at 95%.

The number could have been higher were it not for the fact that around 400 flights had to be cancelled due to various air traffic control problems around Europe, an issue that continues to frustrate carries operating around the Continent.

READ: Michael O’Leary statement on cancelled French ATC strike

Ryanair’s Chief Ops Officer Neal McMahon said: “ATC services in Europe this summer are at their worst levels ever. Ryanair and many other European airlines are having our schedules repeatedly delayed, flights cancelled, and passengers disrupted due to the mismanagement of European ATC. We call on Raul Medina, DG of Eurocontrol, to explain why Europe’s ATC centres are repeatedly short staffed and now claiming “equipment failures” at the Maastricht centre, which is affecting all European airlines. It is unacceptable that one in every four of Ryanair’s first wave departures today (28 June) were delayed due of ATC staff shortages and equipment failures”.