Ryanair was forced to ground 650 flights affecting 118,000 passengers due to industrial action affecting services using French airspace last month.
The Irish no-frills carrier was still able to operate almost 90,000 flights in April but has urged support for a petition to put pressure on the European Commission to protect over-flights due to French air traffic control strikes.
Ryanair had revealed that more than 627,000 passengers’ flights had been cancelled over three months due to a series of walkouts by air traffic controllers in France as part of wider protests against pension reforms.
Ryanair followed budget rival Wizz Air in reporting a surge in April travel despite the disruption, with Easter falling early in the month.
Passenger carryings rose by 13% year-on-year to reach 16 million with an improved load factor of 94% although last April’s numbers were affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The April total gave Ryanair a rolling 12 month total of 170.3 million passengers, up 55% on a year earlier.
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