Aer Lingus has reported a fall in passenger numbers for last year compared to 2012. The airline carried 9.6 million people in 2013, which is down 0.3% on the previous year.

However the airline recorded a 12% increase on long-haul routes to the US.

The carrier says its short-haul flown load factor - the number of seats filled on flights - was 68.3%, an increase of 1.7 points on December 2012.

But capacity on these routes fell by 5.1% in the same period.

While its long-haul flown load factor was 82%, an increase of 4.3 points on December 2012. Capacity on these routes also grew by 4.9% on last year.

Total flown passengers - including Aer Lingus Regional operations - were 733,000 in December 2013, compared to 734,000 in December 2012.

Short-haul flown passengers in December 2013 were 648,000, a decrease of 1.5% on December 2012, while long-haul flown passengers were 85,000, an increase of 11.8% on December 2012.

Newstalk's Business Editor Ian Guider has the details.