Newly-elected Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore has called on the Government to publicly ask Aer Lingus to reconsider its decision to discontinue its Shannon-Heathrow route.
Mr Gilmore made his comments after meeting with the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance (ACA), a coalition of business, tourism, union and other interests opposed to the move.
The ACA has warned that the planned move will result in significant job losses and millions of euro in lost tourism revenues.
He said the Government could not continue to ignore evidence that the mid-west will suffer enormous damage by Aer Lingus's decision.
Mr Gilmore, who was accompanied by the party's two contenders for the deputy leadership of the party, Limerick East TD Jan O'Sullivan and Dublin West TD Joan Burton, also met Sitpu representatives and Aer Lingus workers.
Speaking after this afternoon's round of meetings, Mr Gilmore said: "It might well be that neither the Government or the Aer Lingus management appreciated the potentially negative economic impact of the Shannon decision, but neither can be in any doubt at this stage."
"I believe the first thing the Government should do is to publicly ask the Aer Lingus management to reconsider their decision in the national interest.
"There have been many occasions in the past where multi-national companies have been threatening to pull out and where government ministers have intervened to urge them to stay.
"Surely in a situation where the Government, on behalf of the Irish public, retains a 25 per cent shareholding in the Aer Lingus, they are entitled to ask the management to reconsider its decision, given the dire consequences of the scrapping of the routes."
Additional reporting: PA