Aer Lingus shares fell by 1.2 per cent yesterday in their first official day of trading on the Dublin and London stock exchanges.

Several million shares were traded and the stock closed down, at €2.45. The shares were under pressure early in the day, at one point down 2.8 per cent, but staged a recovery later on.

Traders said trading was relatively modest, with most of the frantic activity taking place last week when its shares could be purchased on the grey market.

Most investors purchasing between €10,000 and €30,000 got their full allocation. But anyone investing between €100,000 and €250,000 were severely cut back.

The Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, and the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, visited the Dublin Stock Exchange, along with the airline's chairman, John Sharman, to mark its entry to the official list.

Mr Cullen issued a statement to the market last night reiterating the Government's intention to block any sale of the Heathrow landing slots.

The Government's shareholding will be needed to stop this, but also the votes of one other shareholder, the statement made clear.

Those who purchased shares before the airline listed are sitting on strong gains. The shares listed at €2.20 and this means they have appreciated by over 11 per cent by close of business yesterday. With the airline not prepared to pay dividends at this time, capital appreciation of the stock will prove all-important.

The softening of oil prices over recent weeks has given momentum to airline stocks like Ryanair and Aer Lingus.