Independent statistics demonstrate that Ryanair has risen in the world rankings to reaffirm its position as the largest airline outside of the United States.
In its yearly rankings of the world’s airlines by number of passengers, communications expert Cirium ranks Irish behemoth Ryanair Holdings as the fifth largest airline in the world. This places Ryanair as the largest airline in Europe and the biggest outside of the US, which is home to the top four airlines according to Cirium: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.
By flying about 120.6 million passengers in 2021, Ryanair rose three spots in the company’s global rankings, from ninth to fifth. The Irish business, managed by group CEO Michael O’Leary, finished ahead of Emirates in seventh place and China Southern in sixth. The next closest European airline, Air France, came in at number thirteen and flew half as many passengers as Ryanair did the previous year. Following at position 17, with 50 million passengers, was Lufthansa.
By contrast American Airlines, the world’s number one, flew almost 237.5 million people in 2021, Cirium says.
Cirium’s report says that Ryanair kept pace with the growth of US airlines, which were the first to begin recovering from Covid travel curbs last year.