Ryanair's passenger figures grow 10 pct in April

Ryanair, Europe's leading low-cost airline, said on Wednesday it carried a total of 9.9 million passengers in April this year, up 10 percent over a year ago.

The Irish budget airline also said its load factor -- how many seats it fills on each flight -- rose by 2 percent to 93 percent.

Ryanair attributed the passenger number increase to its lower fares and improving customer experience.

"These record monthly numbers and load factors were delivered despite more air traffic control strikes in Belgium, France, Greece and Italy, as lower fares and the continuing success of our 'Always Getting Better' customer experience program continue to deliver even more great value for our customers," Ryanair's Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Jacobs said.

April was heavily hit by air traffic control strikes in France, Belgium, Italy and Greece. The disruption this causes travellers is monumental because hundreds of Ryanair flights to, from and within these countries were cancelled.

"Ryanair customers can look forward to more improvements, as we enter the third year of our 'Always Getting Better' program, which includes even lower fares, more new routes, new digital features and new cabin interiors, as Ryanair continues to deliver the lowest fares and the most on time flights in Europe," he said. Endit