AER LINGUS HAS revealed new traffic statistics showing passenger numbers increased by 7.2 per cent in December.

The airline said the total number of passengers who had flown, including Aer Lingus Regional operations, increased by 7.2 per cent to 734,000 in December 2012 compared to the same month of the previous year.

Short haul flight passengers in December 2012 totalled 658,000, an increase of 6.5 per cent on December 2011 – while long haul flight passengers in December 2012 rose to 76,000, an increase of 13.4 per cent on December 2011.

Aer Lingus load factor (ie the number of seats filled on each flight) increased by 2.9 points in December 2012 on December 2011 to 70.9 per cent.

The short haul load factor was 66.6 per cent, an increase of 0.7 points on December 2011, with capacity decreasing by 2.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the long haul load factor was 77.7 per cent, an increase of 6.1 points on December 2011, with capacity increasing by 4.5 per cent on prior year.

Read: Government rules out sale of Aer Lingus stake to Ryanair

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