The owner of Aer Arann has said there are 40 jobs in danger at the Aer Arann Regional Airport in Inverin in Connemara and in the Aer Arann airports on the three Aran Islands - Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan.
Pádraig Ó Céidigh was commenting on the decision by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to award the tender for air services to the islands to Executive Helicopters.
Aer Arann has been flying to the islands for the past 45 years and Mr Ó Céidigh has said that he is looking at appealing the decision.
Sinn Féin spokesperson for the Irish Language and the Gaeltacht, Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, says the decision has very serious implications.
Senator Ó Clochartaigh said the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs Joe McHugh must clarify how the contract was awarded.
He said "the people of the Aran Islands are hugely concerned by this decision. They have lots of questions about the selection process and how applications were adjudicated upon and Minister McHugh must clarify these.
"All information in relation to the tenders that were submitted, the scoring system that was used and the results which were arrived at must be made available for scrutiny. It is difficult to comprehend what improvements for service users can be envisaged on foot of this decision, or what are the expected benefits for the taxpayer and I would like the Minister to explain that to us."
It is intended that the Department will conclude a contract with the preferred bidder after 9 September, following the standstill period.
Under the new contract, daily return flights by helicopter will be provided between the islands and Galway Airport for the period from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2019.
