Aer Lingus withdrawal - Government credibility is now at stake

Aer Lingus management is depicting its decision to terminate the airline’s service from Shannon to London (Heathrow) as regrettably necessary. It wishes to use its limited slots at Heathrow for a new service from Belfast.

The sense of betrayal on the part of the 45 workers at Shannon who are expected to lose their jobs is understandable. Those job losses are on top of previous cuts, which have already seen staff numbers dwindle from 700 to 280.

At one time, much of the North Atlantic air traffic stopped at Shannon for refuelling purposes.