EasyJet Chief Executive Mr Ray Webster has said continental European regulators have cleared its acquisition of rival no-frills airline Go-Fly, with the British regulator the remaining hurdle.
"It's just the UK now that is outstanding and we remain very confident that is not going to be an issue," Mr Webster said after the budget airline reported soaring passenger demand last month. Regulators in other destinations had given the go-ahead for the acquisition.
Mr Webster also said that demand for July and August was positive. "June is spot on and looking forward July and August are looking spot on," he said.
On negotiations with Boeing and Airbus SAS on ordering new aircraft, Webster said a decision was "not too far away now".
EasyJet's like-for-like passenger numbers in June were up 51.5 per cent on the same month last year. It carried a total of 958,857 passengers last month.
The airline's load factor - the number of passengers as a proportion of available seats - was 86.6 per cent, up slightly from 86.5 per cent last year.
The rolling 12 month passenger total was 9.023 million, with a load factor of 84.1 per cent.
Go, which is being taken over by EasyJet, says its passenger numbers rose by 71 per cent year-on-year in June to 550,749.
Barbara Cassani, Go's chief executive, says: "These great figures reflect the massive success of our new bases in Bristol and East Midlands."
Yesterday, EasyJet's discount rival Ryanair said it carried 34 per cent more passengers in June compared with the same month last year.