Aer Lingus long haul passengers fall 9.6% in March

Passenger figures at Aer Lingus fell by 5.6 per cent in March as traffic on the airline's long haul flights dropped significantly compared to the same month in 2013.

The airline carried 797,000 passengers in the month, compared to 844,000 in March last year.

Long haul passengers fell 9.6 per cent in the month to 75,000, while short haul passengers were also down by 6.8 per cent to 628,000.

Total traffic for the month, including Aer Lingus Regional scheduled flights, declined from 844,000 in March 2013 to 797,000 last month.

The figures were adversely affected by the timing of Easter, which fell in March in 2013 but has moved to April this year.