The Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has said Aer Lingus's withdrawal of its Shannon to Heathrow route was discussed at length by the Cabinet at its meeting today.
Mr Dempsey told RTE's News at One the route was a very attractive one and the Government was doing all it could to find another airline to operate it.
He said the Government recognised the impact of Air Lingus's decision but it was important not to over-emphasise its impact on Shannon Airport and the mid-west region.
Coinciding with the Cabinet meeting, around 30 protesters, including council representatives and business people from the mid-west, gathered outside Government Buildings to voice concern about the Shannon controversy.
Meanwhile, Shannon is to lose another air link this winter. Belarus's national airline Belavia is to discontinue its once weekly winter service between Shannon and Minsk on October 25.
The airline carries about 7,000 passengers in and out of Shannon each year many of them the families and children of the Chernobyl disaster, who spend time in Ireland each year.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said a decision would be taken next March on whether or not the airline's twice weekly summer air service to and from Minsk would resume.
The company says the decision is due to falling passengers numbers on the route and increased operating costs.
