Long-haul passenger numbers at Aer Lingus plunge by 25%

LONG-HAUL passenger numbers at Aer Lingus plunged by a quarter last month as ferry numbers showed an increase.

The airline, which is deep in negotiations on cost-cutting measures, said long-haul passenger numbers plunged 25% to 72,000 last month, compared with the same month last year. Short-haul, however, performed strongly, showing a 9% increase to 704,000.

The airline’s overall load factor, a measure of seats filled in the month was 71%, a drop of 1.3 points.