Two years ago, the low-cost airline Ryanair became Europe's leading carrier in terms of passenger numbers.

But the time on the throne was short-lived, reports the news agency Reuters.

Ryanair ascended to become Europe's largest airline in 2016, when the low-cost carrier carried 117 million passengers.

But German airline Lufthansa quickly put an end to Ryanair's dominance, reports news agency Reuters. The airline is back on top with 130 million passengers in 2017, one million more than Ryanair.

Lufthansa's expansion is partly explained by the collapse of Air Berlin. When the company went under at the end of last year, it was Germany's second-largest airline.

The acquisition of Belgian Brussels Airlines at the end of 2016 and the expansion of its own low-cost airline Eurowings have also helped Lufthansa to advance.

Ryanair's operations have instead been plagued by staffing problems, which have led to, among other things, 20,000 cancelled flights during the year, writes Reuters.

Source: di.se