Ryanair to rival BA as Britian's biggest airline

It boosted its total number of passengers by 15% to 36.4m in the six months to the end of September.

While BA carried 1.6m people in the British market in September compared with Ryanair's 1.4m, the budget airline is forecasting continued growth as BA passenger numbers are declining.

EasyJet's founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has warned the airline that its double-digit growth is unsustainable.