Rival low-fare airlines easyJet and Ryanair both carried an increased number of passengers last month.

More than 6.61 million people travelled on easyJet flights in August 2014 – an 8.4 per cent rise on the total for August 2013 – while Ryanair’s August 2014 traffic rose four per cent to 9.4 million.

More than 64.33 million passengers travelled with easyJet in the 12 months ending August 2014, a 6.4 per cent rise on the figure for the 12 months ending August 2013.

Ryanair’s figure for the year ending August 2014 was 83.4 million, a four per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

EasyJet’s planes flew 94.2 per cent full last month – a record – while Ryanair’s August 2014 figure of 93 per cent was also an all-time high.

The passenger boom seems set to continue into September, with easyJet saying it expected to have its busiest-ever day on Friday with 1,451 flights carrying more than 210,000 passengers.

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