On 2 October, Ryanair released September traffic statistics. The low-cost airline welcomed 13.1m passengers (+11%) with a 97% load factor. Despite the pilot and cabin crew strikes on 12 and 28 September that caused over 400 flight cancellations the airline increased its total traffic.
| SEPTEMBER | 2017Customers (LF) | 2018Customers (LF) | Growth |
| Ryanair | 11.8M (97%) | 12.6M (97%) | +6% |
| Lauda | – – | 0.5M (93%) | – |
| Total | 11.8M (97%) | 13.1M (97%) | +11% |
Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said:
“Ryanair’s September traffic (which includes Lauda traffic) grew by 11% to 13.1m customers, while our load factor was unchanged at 97%, on the back of lower fares.
Regrettably, over 400 flights were cancelled in September because of two days of unnecessary pilot and cabin crew strikes in 5 countries, and repeated ATC staff shortages in the UK, Germany and France.
During the entire month of September, while we cancelled just over 400 flights, we completed over 68,000 scheduled flights with more than 80% of these flights arriving on time, as Ryanair continues to deliver the lowest fares, with the best punctuality of any major EU airline.”
