The low-cost carrier on Monday (6 November) said it expected its full-year profit after tax for the year to the end of March 2024 would  range between €1.85 billion (£1.6 billion) and €2.05 billion (£1.77 billion), up from last year’s €1.43 billion. 

Overall, Ryanair’s half-year profit after tax amounted to €2.18 billion, a 59% increase on the same period a year earlier.

Ryanair put the uptick down to an 11% growth in passenger numbers to 105.4 million travellers during the six months to the end of September, as well as fares increasing by 24% to around €58 per passenger.

Higher fares, said Ryanair, will offset soaring fuel and operational costs.

“With the benefit of constrained EU capacity this winter and the impact of P&W engine issues repairs on competitor fleets, we currently expected third quarter fares to be ahead of the prior year by a mid teens percentage,” said chief executive Michael O’Leary.

Looking ahead, Ryanair is expecting to reach its full-year target of 183.5 million passengers due to high levels of forward Christmas bookings.