Campaign to save Shannon Heathrow slots moves online

THE campaign to save Shannon’s Heathrow slots is moving from the streets to the information superhighway.

Fresh from last week’s 5,000-person-strong demonstration in Shannon a fresh initiative has been launched online dedicated to attempts to reverse Aer Lingus’s decision.

This includes an appeal for people to send in YouTube digital films of themselves and their personal stories arising out of the loss of the Heathrow connection.

The saveshannon.com website had its first full day online yesterday and one of its organisers, Robert Lynch, said it hopes to tap into the “groundswell of anger”, which has built up since Aer Lingus made its decision.

“We have heard a lot about the flights themselves, and also about the political elements. This however, is at a personal level where people can just film themselves and their thoughts on the issue, and we can gather all those together,” he said.

The Save Shannon website aims to pull together various aspects of the campaign and provides a list of email addresses to focus lobbying efforts.

It also includes a competition to win €250 worth of flights with Aer Lingus’s outspoken rival and majority shareholder, Ryanair.

Mr Lynch said that in the fortnight since Aer Lingus made its decision the discussion has been at a boardroom level, and has not focused on the people who will be most affected.

“It can be very difficult for people when they are in a position of employment to be put in a position of unemployment.

“But that is what these Heathrow flights mean to people if the tourists are not coming to the area and jobs are lost,” he said.

This website is separate to the campaign hosted on the Online Petitions website.

This has already gathered 11,000 signatories since it went live early last week.