The Chief Executive of Aer Lingus, Dermot Mannion, has said he does not expect the airline will change its decision about ending the Shannon to Heathrow air service, despite growing calls for it to do so.
On RTÉ’s This Week radio programme, Mr Mannion acknowledged the Government's disappointment at the decision.
However, he said was very confident that over time Aer Lingus would be seen to have done more than its fair share to meet regional development transportation issues at Shannon.
Mr Mannion said a significant proportion of passengers using the Shannon to Heathrow link were connecting with flights to US destinations and Aer Lingus wants to serve those passengers with direct flights from Shannon later in the year.
He also insisted that Aer Lingus was not suggesting any traffic to and from Shannon would be shed arising from its decision and he is waiting to see how the open market would respond in the coming weeks
Aer Lingus is expected to explain its decision to local interest groups next week, while a lobby group of political, business and community leaders will meet to discuss its strategy in two days time.
Local representatives are also awaiting a reply from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen on the possibility of a meeting.
An impact survey carried out by the employers group IBEC is expected to conclude that thousands of people in the region are facing the prospect of losing their jobs as a result of the decision.
This morning, in a statement delivered at services and masses in the Mid-West, Church of Ireland and Catholic bishops described the decision by Aer Lingus as very damaging, and a serious blow to tourist and business enterprises in the region.
The statement also claimed there could be a situation where Cork and Dublin airports might suffer the loss of connections to Heathrow like Shannon.
The bishops said there is no area of life, including the economy, in which social responsibility may be ignored.
