European low-cost carriers had a strong year: Ryanair and Wizz Air carried 275 million passengers in 2025

Market leader Ryanair carried 14.5 million passengers in December, up 7 percent year-on-year. The company’s load factor remained stable at 92 percent in the last month of the year, on around 82,000 flights. In the full calendar year of 2025, the Irish airline served 206.5 million passengers, up 5 percent on the previous year. The company expects to carry a total of 207 million passengers in the current business year.

The Hungarian-based Wizz Air also showed dynamic growth. In December, 5.85 million passengers were carried on its flights, which represents a 15.5 percent increase year-on-year. Capacity grew even faster: the number of available seats increased by 16.3 percent, so the average load factor of flights decreased to 85.9 percent. For the full year, Wizz Air carried 68.59 million passengers, a 9.1 percent increase compared to 2024, while the annual load factor was 90.7 percent.

Wizz Air announced at the end of 2025 that it would expand its fleet by 15 more aircraft for the 2026 summer season at its main European bases, including London-Luton, Rome, Tirana and Warsaw. The company also became the main sponsor of the Italian football team AS Roma.

Investor reactions remained subdued: Ryanair shares rose slightly, while Wizz Air shares weakened slightly following the announcements.