Aer Rianta's decision to maintain landing charges at their present level in Shannon Airport was welcomed by business leaders and worker interests yesterday.

However, the airport manager at Shannon, Mr Bob Goldfield, declined to comment on the decision.

Mr David O'Mahony, president of Limerick Chamber of Commerce, which represents 700 businesses throughout Co Limerick, said he was still disappointed at the regulator's report. "The original position does not change. The fact that Aer Rianta are not going to increase their charges does not affect the outcome. I feel there is definite discrimination against Shannon and Cork and no account was taken of regional disparities which is directly counter to Government-intended policy."

The chamber believes maximum airport charges at Shannon should be lower than Dublin. Mr Tadhg Kearney, a spokesman on aviation affairs, said the Commission for Aviation Regulation decision would reverse Shannon's growth.

The acting chief executive of Shannon Development, Mr Kevin Thompstone, said he was also disappointed. He said the regulator's final determination did not seem to consider the regional balance argument.

"When you look closely behind the determination and you run the numbers, what actually emerges is for Dublin to be able to get a maximum of £4.41, Shannon and Cork could go 90 per cent higher, and achieve yields of over £8.

"While we recognise that the operator, as confirmed by Aer Rianta, is unlikely to go to the maximum, we find it difficult to understand that technically, the regulator would allow such a maximum given the whole emphasis of regional balance in the current National Development Plan."

He added that, despite Aer Rianta's decision, the regulator had given the company the formula to increase its charge to a much higher level of yield per passenger in Cork and Shannon, when there was excess capacity at both those airports. "It seems to go against all the laws of the market.

A spokesman for Mr Goldfield said he was unavailable for comment and everything had been said by the Aer Rianta chairman. A spokesman for Signal, the airport workers' lobby group, said the case for Shannon, which had a catchment area of less than 250,000 people, would have to be brought to Europe.