Summer 2019 flights: The airlines with the most flight options this year

Exclusive: Ryanair has overtaken BA to become the biggest international carrier from UK airports

'There’s little evidence to suggest that Brexit concerns have stopped airlines from growing UK seat capacity on international routes' (PA)

Ryanair has taken over from British Airways as the number one international airline from UK airports in the summer of 2019.

It is the first time that a foreign carrier will fly more people from the UK than a British airline.

Research for The Independent shows that the Irish airline has increased its outbound flying from the UK by 4 per cent, adding 615,000 seats to its international capacity for the summer season, which runs from 31 March to 26 October.

In contrast, British Airways’ numbers have remained flat.

In third place is easyJet, which also increased capacity by 4 per cent, representing 591,000 seats.

The figures were obtained by the airline routes expert, Ralph Anker, using Cirium Data and Analytics.

Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, campaigned vigorously for a Remain vote in the EU referendum. Since the Leave decision, he has frequently warned that Brexit uncertainty would dampen his airline’s expansion from the UK.

Mr Anker said: “Despite Mr O’Leary’s repeated warnings about the potential perils for the UK of Brexit, his airline has now overtaken British Airways for the most international seat capacity from the UK this summer."

In terms of seat-miles, a key metric in aviation, BA continues to outpace all other airlines from the UK because of its intercontinental flights.

A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers the most extensive long-haul network by any UK airline, including to our new destinations of Charleston, Islamabad, Osaka and Pittsburgh.

“We offer our customers a choice of cabins on all our flights, lounges for business class customers, free food for all long-haul flights and business class for short-haul. And with a £6.5bn investment in new aircraft, new seats and new food, the journey is only going to get better.”

Smaller airlines show very different trajectories this summer compared with the same season in 2018. The biggest capacity increase in absolute terms is at Jet2. The Leeds-based airline has added 745,000 one-way seats, increasing its capacity by 14 per cent.

The largest percentage rise is at Wizz Air. The Hungarian airline has added 643,000 more seats, increasing its UK business by 24 per cent.

But Norwegian is cutting UK capacity by 3 per cent and Thomas Cook Airlines by 4 per cent.

In terms of destinations, the biggest winner is Tunisia, to which the number of seats has almost doubled. Capacity to Turkey has risen by one-fifth, and to Egypt by one-seventh.

Mr Anker, author of The Anker Report, said: “There’s little evidence to suggest that Brexit concerns have stopped airlines from growing UK seat capacity on international routes.

“Yes, non-EU markets like Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia are showing well above average growth, but all of these markets have been recovering from recent incidents that reduced their tourist appeal.”

The airport with the highest number of international routes is Gatwick, with 202. The figures for the remainder of the “big four” airports are 194 from Heathrow, 183 from Manchester and 174 from Stansted.