The number of passengers travelling on Aer Lingus rose 4.7 per cent in November, but the long-haul sector continued to struggle.

In total, 776,000 people travelled with the airline during the month, with short-haul routes recording a 9.1 per cent increase on the same month a year earlier with 704,000.

However, long-haul passenger numbers fell 25 per cent to 72,000.

Load factor – the average number of seats filled on each flight – fell 1.3 points to 71 per cent, while capacity fell 4.7 per cent overall.

In short-haul, the load factor fell 0.8 points to 71 per cent, while capacity rose 12.3 per cent on the routes.

Aer Lingus’s long-haul routes saw capacity fall 25.7 per cent during November, while load factor fell 1.8 per cent to 71.1 per cent. To date, it has increased its overall passenger traffic by 2.6 per cent.