Ryanair sees 'huge uptick' in European air travel

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair is seeing a "huge uptick" in air travel across Europe, with the exception of Ireland and parts of the British market, Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Friday.

Ryanair flew 5.3 million passengers in June, up from just 400,000 in the same month a year ago when the industry was shut down but far below the 14.2 million flown in June 2019. O'Leary said he expected to carry more than 8 million passengers in July with a load factor of around 75%.

"There's been a huge uptick in recovery in air travel across Europe. I think Europe, excluding Ireland, will recover to 75-80% of normal traffic volumes through July, August and September," O'Leary told Ireland's Newstalk radio station.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin, editing by Louise Heavens)