Ryanair has released January traffic statistics revealing traffic grew 25 per cent to 7.5 million customers, when compared to last year, while load factors rose five per cent to points to 88 per cent.

At the same time rolling annual traffic to January grew 17 per cent to 102.9 million customers.

Ryanair Kenny Jacobs said: “These record monthly numbers and load factors are also due to the continuing success of our “Always Getting Better” customer experience programme, which continues to deliver stronger than expected forward bookings, traffic and load factors.”

At the same time low-cost rival easyJet said it carried 4,276,821 in January, up 6.3 per cent from last year.

easyJet had a load factor of 85 per cent and a rolling 12 months passenger figure of 70,082,951.

Finally, Europe’s third largest low-cost airline, Norwegian, made a strong start to 2016, achieving 9 per cent growth, a higher load factor and more than 1.7 million passengers in the traditionally quiet month of January.

In January, Norwegian carried 1,756,656 passengers.

Norwegian’s long-haul network, including low-cost flights to the US from London Gatwick, continues to play a central role in the airline’s passenger growth, with January traffic also boosted by new domestic routes in Spain.

Norwegian chief executive Bjørn Kjos said: “We are very pleased that we have attracted more passengers and achieved a higher load factor in a traditionally slower month.

“The growth is primarily due to international expansion, with continued UK growth at our London Gatwick base, along with new domestic flights in Spain.”