Ryanair and Wizz Air have both reported a massive fall in June carryings.
Traffic at Ryanair slumped by 97% year-on-year from 14.2 million passengers in June last year to just 400,000.
The no-frills airline giant operated just 2,800 flights out of 79,600 originally planned ahead of travel shutdown due to the the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rival Wizz Air suffered an 86% slump in carryings to 502,000 from 3.6 million in the same month in 2019.
However, both budget carriers have restarted services this month ahead of a predicted relaxation if international travel restrictions.
Wizz Air launched a 24-hour sale today with a 20% discount on all UK routes for an unlimited travel period.
Last month’s downturn came as Iata revealed that passenger demand in May dropped 91.3% over the same month last year.
This represented a “mild uptick” from the 94% annual decline recorded in April.
The improvement was driven by recovery in some domestic markets, most notably China.
Iata director general and chief executive Alexandre de Juniac said: “May was not quite as terrible as April. That’s about the best thing that can be said.
“As predicted, the first improvements in passenger demand are occurring in domestic markets.
“International traffic remained virtually stopped in May. We are only at the very beginning of a long and difficult recovery. And there is tremendous uncertainty about what impact a resurgence of new Covid-19 cases in key markets could have.”
He added: “Governments also need to avoid adding blockers to the recovery, such as implementing entry quarantines.
“They have the same impact as outright travel bans and will keep economies closed down to the benefits of aviation connectivity.
“Governments should also avoid new fees and charges to cover the cost of Covid-19 related health measures – such as testing and contact tracing – which will make travel less accessible.
“Travel and tourism accounts for 10.3% of global GDP and 300 million jobs. It is in everybody’s interest, including governments, to remove barriers to travel as soon as it is safe to do so. And in the process, it is critical that governments don’t stall the fragile recovery by introducing new regulatory or cost barriers to travel.”