Aer Lingus operating profits drop €20m in 2024 amid disruption

Aer Lingus reported a E20m fall in operating profits for 2024, blaming industrial action over the summer and an increase in competition for transatlantic traffic. The airline operator – part of International Airlines Group (IAG), which reported a 26.7% surge in operating profits to E4.44b for last year on Friday – said it carried 11m passengers in 2024, up by close to 3% from 2023 after it expanded its North American route network in the year. Still, operating profits at Aer Lingus slid almost 9% in the year to E205m. Aer Lingus said its second and third financial quarters were “impacted by industrial action “and an increase in transatlantic competitor capacity”. The pilots’ row cost E55m over the second and third quarters, the airline said previously. But speaking to reporters on a conference call on Friday afternoon, Aer Lingus cCE said An Bord Pleanála’s (ABP) draft ruling that would cap the number of night-time flights at Dublin Airport to an average of 35 a day from more than 100 currently could be a barrier to the airline’s future growth in the Republic.<br/>