Traffic through Dublin airport fell 14 per cent in the first three months of the year to 3.9 million passengers, from 4.5 million for the same period last year.

Ryanair claimed its overall passenger numbers climbed 9 per cent to 14.1 million from 12.9 million for the same period last year.

The airline called for the Government to scrap the €10 tourist tax, and reverse the Dublin Airport Authority’s price increases of up to 40 per cent this year.

Ryanair said Dublin airport’s traffic would fall below 18 million passengers this year.

An airport spokeswoman said the numbers would not have fallen below this level if it had not been for volcanic ash. The ash cut passenger numbers by 500,000 in the past six weeks.