Dublin, Nov 2 (IANS): Europe's largest budget airline Ryanair said on Monday that it suffered a loss of 48 million euros (56 million US$) in the first half of the fiscal year 2022 (H1 of FY 2022), compared to a 411-million-euro loss in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

The sharp drop in its loss was mainly due to the rapid recovery in its traffic numbers fueled by "the successful rollout of the EU (European Union) Digital Covid-19 Certificates in July", an arrangement which allows holders of such certificates to travel freely within the EU member states and some other European countries, the airline added in a statement.

In the first half of the current fiscal year, which extends from April 1 to September 30, 2021, Ryanair handled a total of 39.1 million passengers, up 128 per cent from the 17.1 million passengers it handled in 2020, it said.

The traffic growth boosted the company's revenue by 83 per cent to 2.15 billion euros, it added.

Lower fares also contributed to the increase of its traffic numbers, said the Ireland-headquartered airline, adding that the average fares were only 33 euros, down 30 per cent on the first half of the previous fiscal year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ryanair said in the statement that its order for 210 new B737-8200 "Gamechanger" aircraft will ensure its position as a leading budget airline in Europe in the next decade.

The B737-8200 aircraft offer 4 per cent more seats, but consume 16 per cent less fuel and emits 40 per cent less noise, said the airline, adding that it will take the delivery of the 210 aircraft over the next five years with the first batch of over 65 aircraft to be received by the summer of 2022.

The airline said that it aims to increase its annual traffic to 225 million passengers in the fiscal year 2026, which will represent a 50-per cent growth from 149 million passengers it handled in the pre-pandemic year.

Over the next five years, Ryanair will also create 5,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers, said the statement, adding that it also plans to invest over 100 million euros in setting up two more training centres possibly in Spain and Poland during this period.

Ryanair currently has a workforce of 16,000 people. Prior to the pandemic, the company had an estimated 19,000 employees, according to the figures released by the airline on its website (1 euro= 1.16 US$).