BRITISH Midland saw passenger numbers on its Dublin London route increase by almost 9 per cent last year, and market share continues to grow, Sir Michael Bishop, the chairman of its parent company, Airlines of Britain, said yesterday. The airline now plans to increase its capacity between the two cities to circumvent the scarcity of landing slots at Heathrow, he added.

Increased interest in Dublin as a business and holiday destination, the buoyancy of the Irish economy and the development of codesharing agreements have driven the increase in demand, he added. "We cannot increase our flights but we can increase our capacity. Our agreement to purchase Airbus A321 jets will give us greater capacity and we would propose to use these on high density routes like Dublin London," Sir Michael said.