Ryanair overtakes United and Delta to become second largest airline in the world

Ryanair becomes second largest airline in world by passengers
Carried 208m passengers in 2025
Overtook Delta Air Lines and United Airlines
American Airlines leads with 253m passengers
Ryanair remains third most valuable listed airline group

There was surprise and some skepticism at Michael O’Leary’s press conference on Wednesday September 23rd 2026 when the outspoken Ryanair CEO declared that Ryanair was now the second largest airline in the world.

It as at their AGm earlier in the month that Ryanair first officially positioned itself as the world’s second-largest airline by passenger volume according to data presented at its Annual General Meeting. The Irish low-cost carrier reported carrying 208m passengers in 2025 allowing it to overtake major US legacies Delta Air Lines at 206m and United Airlines at 188m. According to figures released by the International Air Transport Association the top tier of global aviation by passenger count is led by American Airlines with 253m passengers with Ryanair firmly securing the second spot.

This shift establishes Ryanair not only as the largest airline in Europe by a wide margin widening its gap over the Lufthansa Group at 140m and IAG at 135m but also ahead of major Chinese operators like China Southern and Air China. While Ryanair dominates the volume charts US network carriers still hold the lead when looking at alternative financial metrics.

Because Ryanair focuses on low-cost short-haul European flights its business model yields a different footprint compared to legacy international airlines. US carriers like Delta and United generate significantly higher annual revenue and Available Seat Miles due to premium ticketing and vast long-haul transoceanic networks. Despite lower revenue per passenger Ryanair remains one of the most valuable aviation companies globally consistently positioning as the third most valuable publicly listed airline group in the world trailing only Delta and United.