Ryanair no longer Europe’s biggest airline

German airline Lufthansa has soared above Ireland’s Ryanair to become the biggest carrier in Europe by passenger numbers.

The result follows the cancellation of thousands of Ryanair flights last year due to issues with its pilot rota.

The entire Lufthansa group carried 130m passengers in 2017, beating Ryanair’s 129m figure and pushing the Dublin-headquartered firm back into second place, according to Reuters.

Lufthansa has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with its 2016 takeover of Brussels Airlines and expansion of its budget brand Eurowings.

The company was given a further boost by the collapse rival Air Berlin, Germany’s second-biggest carrier, which went under last year.

Ryanair, meanwhile, had to curb its growth plans in the wake of rostering problems that left it without enough standby pilots to operate its fleet.

Europe’s third biggest airline last year was IAG, parent company of British Airways, Aer Lingus and Spanish firm Iberia, which carried 104.8m people in 2017.

In fourth place was Air France-KLM, which carried 98.7m passengers.

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