Low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air achieved growth over the Christmas period with strong December passenger numbers.
Ryanair carryings rose by 3% to 9.3 million while Wizz Air saw numbers increase by almost 20% to more than 2.2 million over December 2016.
The Ryanair load factor improved by one percentage point to 95% as passengers continued to be attracted by lower fares in the month despite the airline’s problems with pilot rotas.
The December figures gave Ryanair a rolling annual total of 129 million passengers, up 10%.
The Wizz Air passenger growth came as the fleet was expanded to 88 aircraft with the delivery of a new Airbus A321neo.
The eastern and central European carrier completed an order for 146 A320neos during the month as it gears up for expansion through to 2026.
Wizz Air achieved a rolling annual total of 28.2 million passengers, a year-on-year rise of 24%.