It has been recently revealed by UK carrier Ryanair that its passenger numbers fell by 50,000 in January 2013; chiefly because of the fact that the company had grounded up to 80 aircrafts after the busy Christmas holiday period.

According to Ryanair's Robin Kiely, the fall in passenger numbers last month, due to plane grounding, was almost in line with an earlier guidance issued by the airline. Kiely also said that Ryanair still remains quite upbeat on passenger numbers.

In addition, Kiely also revealed alongside that the airline had witnessed yet another record 12-month period to January 2013; thanks largely to the nearly 80 million passengers who had chosen one of Ryanair's ultra-low fares since January 2012.

Meanwhile, the revelation about the fall in Ryanair's passenger numbers last month came soon after the disclosure that Ryanair is planning to make a _100 million payment to Flybe for operating Aer Lingus's routes in an eleventh-hour attempt to get the European Union's approval for the acquisition of the former state airline, approximately 30pc of which is already owned by Ryanair.

As per a statement by Flybe, an agreement has been reached in principle with Ryanair "about the possible transfer of a number of aircraft and operating routes as part of a package of concessions Ryanair has submitted to the European Commission."