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Irish airline, Aer Lingus, has announced cutbacks at its Gatwick Airport hub, blaming flagging consumer demand for its decision.

Aer Lingus is the flag-carrier of the Republic of Ireland, and all fleet aeroplanes sport the green shamrock on their tails. The company has not enjoyed the best run of luck over the last few months, however.

The global recession, now just a speck in the middle-distance, forced Aer Lingus to renege on plans to base eight aircraft at Gatwick. Only five planes ever made it onto the apron, and now the airline wants to redistribute two of them to other, more profitable airports.

A number of flights will continue to operate as normal from the London airport: namely three routes to Ireland, and one to Spain, but plans to expand the £100m base at Gatwick have gone the way of the dodo.

Following an impressive £110m loss for the year ending April 2009, bosses have voiced concerns about operating profits, which are expected to be minimal for the current financial year. The continuing threat of a hostile Ryanair takeover has also done little for shareholder confidence.

Despite all that, Aer Lingus recorded higher than average passenger numbers in December 2009, helping company shares jump a full 9%, but with the winter season now in full swing, the airline is braced for a difficult start to the new year.

Aer Lingus now wants to shave £66m from employee wages and pensions, as efforts to reduce costs continue to take casualties. Voluntary redundancies are being welcomed.