Global airlines carried 3.8 billion passengers in 2016, an increase of 7% on the previous year.
Statistics compiled by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show passengers took an additional 242 million air trips.
Ryanair was fifth in the world ranking of airlines in terms of scheduled passengers, carrying 112 million passengers.
The 2017 edition of the IATA World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), shows that, once again, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region carried the largest number of passengers, with a total of 1.3 billion, an increase of 11.3% on 2015 and representing 35% market share.
European airlines carried the second largest number of passengers, at 992.4 million, up 6.1% over 2015, representing a market share of 26%.
North American airlines are third on the list, carrying 911.5 million, up 3% over 2015, with a 24% market share.
The top three airlines in terms of scheduled passengers are all US carriers, with Southwest Airlines carrying 151.8 million passengers, American Airlines (144.2 million passengers) and Delta Air Lines (143.3 million).
China Southern Airlines is fourth in the list, carrying 114.5 million passengers, while Ryanair is fifth, carrying 112 million passengers.
US citizens are the world’s most prevalent travellers, both internationally and domestically, according to the report.
Internationally, American citizens comprised 9.5% of all travellers. This was followed by citizens of the UK (7.8%), Germany (6.5%), China (6.4%) and France (4.1%).
