Aer Lingus and Ryanair see passenger numbers rise

IRELAND’s two principal airlines have experienced growth in passenger numbers, with Aer Lingus seeing a 13% boost during December and Ryanair up 5% over the entire year.

Aer Lingus said its total booked passenger numbers in December, including its Aer Lingus Regional operations, rose by 13% to 702,000 from 621,000 the same month the previous year.

Aer Lingus’s total booked passenger numbers in December 2011 was 638,000, an increaseof 11.5% compared to December 2010. Short-haul booked passengers in December 2011 were 574,000, an increase of 13.9% on December 2010.