The Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has expressed his disappointment on the decision by British Midland not to establish a service between Shannon and Heathrow.
The Shannon Airport Authority said last night that the airline had turned down the route due to pressure arising from its recent expansion of other services.
Campaigners who were seeking to have the Shannon Heathrow link maintained have said the news is a setback.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ken Sullivan of the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance said the decision was disappointing.
However, he added that the campaign to retain the Aer Lingus slot remained paramount.
The Shannon Airport Authority had been in talks with the airline since August in relation to providing the route to replace the one which is to be withdrawn by Aer Lingus.
The Irish Independent reported that British Midlands told the airport of its decision over a week ago.
However, a spokesperson for Noel Dempsey has said the minister only became 'formally' aware of airline British Midland's yesterday.
The spokesperson said Mr Dempsey had known over the past two weeks that that the relationship between British Midland and the airport was 'up and down'.
The Minister is now in talks with other airlines.
A spokesperson for the airline said the talks had always been tentative.
