Aer Lingus boss to face critics in Shannon row

Aer Lingus boss Dermot Mannion today comes face-to-face with business, tourism and political leaders furious over plans to move Heathrow flights out of Shannon Airport.

Mr Mannion is holding talks with several groups that are fiercely opposed to the switching of the lucrative slots to a new base at Belfast International Airport.

After meeting representatives of Clare County Council and other town councils in the region at the Park Hotel, he will explain his company’s position to business leaders IBEC.

Then, after talks with the Shannon Airport Authority, he is expected to face a fiery reception from representatives of the Atlantic Alliance, a coalition of sectors in the midwest fighting to have the Aer Lingus decision reversed.

Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy said representatives will be driving home the economic impact that a partial pull-out of the airline from Shannon will have on the wider region.

“If this goes through Shannon will be the only part of Ireland that does not have a direct link to London Heathrow and that is not going to happen,” she insisted.

Aer Lingus, privatised by the government last year, is adamant that it will not overthrow its decision to move the Heathrow routes from Shannon to Belfast.