The board of Aer Lingus has rejected a request from Ryanair to hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.
Ryanair, which owns 29% of Aer Lingus, had requested the meeting to discuss Aer Lingus's withdrawal of the Shannon-Heathrow service.
It wanted Aer Lingus to retain the route, and suggested that it switch its recently announced Dublin-Gatwick routes to Belfast. Aer Lingus and Ryanair would be competing on the Dublin-Gatwick route.
The board of Aer Lingus, in a letter to Ryanair, said the holding of an EGM would infringe Irish and EU competition law, in view of the European Commission's rejection of Ryanair's proposed takeover of Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus said it was clear that Ryanair was 'attempting to influence and co-ordinate the strategic conduct of Aer Lingus, its closest competitor'.
A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said he would be making no comment on the Aer Lingus decision as he believed this was a matter for the board of Aer Lingus to decide.
