Passenger numbers at Ryanair rose by 2m or 21% year-on-year in December 2022 as the Irish airline carried 11.5m people over the festive season.

Ryanair flights operated at 92% capacity on average, up from a load factor of 81% in December 2021 when the international travel market was still suffering with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The airline carried some 160.4m passengers in 2022, up 121% year-on-year. The airline said its 12-month rolling load factor of 92% was an improvement of 11 points from the previous year.

The company said it expects to report a stronger than expected Q3 net profit of c.€200m and that FY23 (to end March 2023) traffic guidance of 168m passengers remains unchanged.

Ryanair said it expects the January to March 2023 quarter to be loss making due to the absence of Easter from March, and a recent softening in UK outbound and Ireland to provincial UK traffic and pricing.

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The company said it is raising its FY23 net profit guidance (pre-exceptionals) from a current range of €1.0bn to €1.2bn to a new range of €1.32bn to €1.42bn.

Last month Ryanair and the Fórsa trade union agreed a four-year pay deal for the airline's Irish-based pilots that saw pay cuts agreed during Covid-19 reverse before Christmas.

Pilots will receive three annual pay increases over the next four years up to March 2027 as part of the deal, which was brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission.

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