Ryanair Holdings plc (LON:RYA) and Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ) posted higher passenger numbers for January as the coronavirus risk remains limited in Europe.
Neil Wilson from Markets.com said that while airlines are suffering global fears, intra-European flights should do business as usual – if not more as travellers may rethink their plans.
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Wizz Air also confirmed two top shareholders sold 12mln shares in the company at a 4% discount, raising £500mln.
Private equity firm Indigo Partners, which initially held 20.6% in the Swiss budget airline, went through an accelerated bookbuild process to sell part of its stake to institutional investors.
Bill Franke is Indigo’s managing partner and founder and is chairman of Wizz Air.
Ryanair, meanwhile, posted 5% growth in passenger numbers to 10.8mln while its central and Eastern Europe-focused competitor rose 23% to 3.1mln.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed firm dipped 1% to 4,116p while Ryanair stayed flat at €15.84.