LOW fares airline Ryanair has reported record rises in passengers and profits during the final quarter of last year.
The Irish company, which has operations at Teesside Airport, said passenger totals were up by 30 per cent, to 2.7 million, and after-tax profits by 35 per cent to £17.6m.
During the period the airline's load factor - the amount of available seats sold - shot up by 79 per cent and revenue by 18 per cent, to £82.6m.
A spokesman for Ryanair, which cut fares further in response to the US terrorist strikes, said: "Unlike any other airline in the world following September 11, our margins rose from 19 per cent to 21 per cent for the quarter and net profit increased."
Chief executive Michael O'Leary said the results underlined the resilience of Ryanair's low fares model
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