Ryanair traffic up 6% in March

Traffic increased to 10m from 9.4m in the same month a year ago as the load factor- which gauges how full the planes are - ticked up to 95% from 94%. On a rolling annual basis, traffic to March grew 9% to 130.3m passengers.

Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs attributed the rise in customer numbers to lower fares.

"Ryanair customers can look forward to more low fares and an improved customer experience in 2018 as we roll out more AGB improvements, so we urge all customers who wish to book their summer 2018 holidays to do so now on the Ryanair.com website or mobile app," Jacobs said.

In its third-quarter results back in February, the company reported a 6% rise in pre-tax profit to €112.9m as revenue pushed up 4% to €1.34bn. Ryanair kept its FY18 profit guidance unchanged at between €1.4bn and €1.45bn and announced a €750m share buyback.