Passenger numbers at Aer Lingus fell by 3.5 per cent in the year to the end of February 2010, according to new data released today.
A total of 664,000 passengers flew with the airline last month compared to 668,000 for the same month in 2009.
Short haul passengers fell by 0.3 per cent to 618,000 from 620,000 over the year while long haul passengers declined by 32.4 per cent to 46,000 from 68,000 in February 2009.
Aer Lingus' overall load factor - a measure of how well the airline is filling seats - totalled 69.9 per cent, a fall of 2.1 points compared to February 2009, with capacity decreasing by 8.2 per cent.
Short haul load factor was 70.8 per cent, down 6.7 points on 2009, with capacity increasing by 12.7 per cent. Long haul load factor was 67.7 per cent, an increase of 3.4 points on 2009, with capacity decreasing by 37.5 per cent.
