Easyjet has been hit by rising fuel costs

Its load factor, showing how many seats are taken on flights, was 84.1%, up three percentage points on May 2004.

Chief executive Ray Webster said annual profit was set to "be below last year but in line with current expectations".

Last month, Easyjet reported losses of �31.2m ($57.1m) for the six months to March, and warned higher fuel prices would continue to hit profits.

Low-cost rival Ryanair reported a 34% rise in passenger numbers for May to 2.9 million, and last week British Airways reported a 4.2% rise in passengers.

Easyjet has not introduced a fuel surcharge on tickets to combat rising fuel costs, preferring to cut costs elsewhere.