Ryanair Group saw its profits soar over the peak summer period as the budget carrier enjoyed record traffic levels and higher fares.

The Irish carrier made a post-tax profit of €2.18 billion during the six months to 30 September. This was an increase of 59 per cent over the same period last year and was achieved despite “significantly higher” fuel costs.

The group, which also owns Buzz, Lauda and Malta Air, saw revenue rise by 30 per cent year-on-year to reach €8.58 billion for the half year, as passenger numbers increased by 11 per cent to 105.4 million.

Ryanair’s revenue per passenger was up by 17 per cent year-on-year, mainly due to a 24 per cent rise in average fares to €58, while ancillary revenue, which includes priority boarding, reserved seating and inflight sales, only crept up by 3 per cent to around €24 per passenger.

The company expects average fares in the current quarter, running until 31 December, to increase by a “mid teens percentage” compared with the same period a year ago.

Ryanair said it had operated its largest schedule in summer 2023 with 190 new routes. It has added six new bases this winter at Athens, Belfast, Copenhagen, Girona, Lanzarote and Tenerife, as it introduces 60 new routes. For summer 2024, Ryanair has announced 180 new routes with 90 per cent of its capacity for the season already on sale.

Group CEO Michael O’Leary said that the company expects to make a post-tax profit of between €1.85 billion to €2.05 billion for the financial year ending on 31 March “assuming modest losses” over the winter period. This compares to a net profit of €1.43 billion achieved in the 2022-23 financial year.

“This guidance remains highly dependent on the absence of any unforeseen adverse events – for example such as Ukraine or Gaza – between now and the end of March 2024,” added O’Leary.

Ryanair is aiming to carry around 183.5 million passengers in the current financial year although O’Leary admitted this “depends on Boeing meeting their delivery commitments between now and year-end”. The group’s long-term aim is to carry 300 million passengers per year by 2034.