Ryanair carried a record 20.7 million passengers in July 2025, marking a 3 per cent year-on-year increase and its busiest month ever, despite widespread disruption from air traffic control strikes in France.
The budget airline, which remains Europe’s largest carrier by passenger volume, said it operated more than 113,000 flights during the month. However, 680 flights were cancelled, largely due to industrial action by French air traffic controllers, which caused travel disruption for tens of thousands of passengers.
Ryanair’s load factor — a key industry metric indicating how full its flights are — held steady at 96 per cent, matching July 2024 and underscoring continued strong demand for low-cost air travel across Europe.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary criticised the frequency of strikes in France, describing them as practically “recreational” and accusing air traffic controllers of deliberately targeting the peak summer season to strengthen their bargaining position.
“For the umpteenth summer, French air traffic controllers are using the holiday season to leverage negotiations,” O’Leary said, calling on EU leaders in Brussels to intervene to prevent repeat disruption across the European aviation network.
The French strikes have drawn criticism from airlines and passengers alike, particularly as French airspace is used by aircraft flying between countries not landing in France — meaning the ripple effect often impacts UK-Spain and other intra-European routes.
Despite the operational challenges, Ryanair’s July numbers reflect ongoing strength in the leisure travel market, with consumers still prioritising holidays despite economic pressures and rising living costs.
The airline has aggressively expanded its capacity in recent months, adding new routes and boosting frequencies across Europe. Its consistent 96% load factor shows little sign of weakening demand — even in the face of disruption.
Ryanair has previously called on the EU to implement minimum service guarantees during air traffic control strikes to protect flights over non-striking countries, similar to arrangements already in place in Spain and Italy.
With summer travel demand expected to remain high into August and beyond, Ryanair’s record-breaking month reinforces its position as the leading airline for volume travel across the continent.