Ryanair, the World’s most hated airline, saw their passenger numbers from John Lennon Airport in Liverpool dive bomb like a WWII JU-87 Stuka during the latter stages of 2009. Easyjet performed considerably better.
New 2009 figures released by the airport showed the contrasting fortunes of its two biggest operators as the recession hit the travel trade last year.
Statistics compiled by support group the Friends of Liverpool Airport (FoLA) show Easyjet recovered from falling passenger numbers far quicker.
Easyjet suffered a relatively modest 4% fall in passenger numbers, flying 2.33m to and from JLA last year while Ryanair lost 12.9%, flying only 2.17m people.
Easyjet even managed to record its highest ever monthly passenger figure since it started flying from JLA in 1997, with 260,000 customers being carried last August.
In contrast, Ryanair recorded 12 consecutive months of passenger decline on its Liverpool routes, with its worst monthly performance seeing a 21% fall in March.