Ryanair carried a record 22.2 million passengers in July 2026, the highest monthly total in the low-cost carrier’s history, the airline said on Tuesday, August 5. The figure was up from 20.8 million in July 2025, a 7% year-on-year increase, as Europe’s peak summer travel season drove demand to fresh highs.
The airline’s load factor — the share of available seats filled — held steady at 96%, underlining how consistently full Ryanair’s flights ran through the month. To move that many travellers, the group operated more than 120,800 flights in July.
Over the rolling 12 months to the end of July, Ryanair carried 213.2 million passengers, a 5% rise on the prior-year period. The July milestone extends a run of record monthly traffic for Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, which has continued to add capacity across its pan-European network.
The record traffic came against a more challenging financial backdrop. Ryanair reported that quarterly profit for the three months to the end of June fell by more than a third to 538 million euros, as a near-doubling of jet fuel prices linked to Middle East tensions weighed on earnings even as passenger numbers climbed.
The contrast highlights the balancing act facing the airline: demand for low fares remains exceptionally strong, but volatile fuel costs are squeezing margins across the industry. Ryanair has repeatedly pointed to fuel as the single biggest swing factor in its results this year.
Ryanair’s growth continues to be built on the Boeing 737 family. The carrier operates a large fleet of Boeing 737-800s alongside its newer 737 MAX 8 “Gamechanger” jets, which offer more seats and improved fuel efficiency — a key lever as the airline works to contain rising operating costs.
With load factors near capacity and traffic at record levels, Ryanair’s challenge for the rest of the year is less about filling seats than about protecting profitability against an uncertain fuel-price environment.
Sources: Reuters, Irish Times. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. By Elena Vargas.
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