Aer Lingus reports record passenger numbers for 2014

Aer Lingus has reported record passenger numbers of more than 11 million for 2014, an increase of 3.2 per cent on 2013.

The overall load factor for the year 2014 also increased, up 0.6 percentage points to 79 per cent.

The airline reported a fall off in passenger numbers for December, as a result of a planned reduction in short haul capacity.

The airline said total flown passenger numbers, including those on its regional operations, fell 3.8 per cent to 705,000 last month compared with 733,000 during December 2013.

Long haul traffic increased by 20 per cent to 102,000 passengers in December, up from 85,000 during in the same month in 2013.

Short haul traffic declined 8.2 per cent to 517,000 in December, compared to 563,000 in December 2013.