It has emerged that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) was aware of Aer Lingus's plans to drop its Shannon-Heathrow route before the official announcement but failed to inform the Shannon airport authorities.
The DAA, which operates Shannon airport, was told the airline was considering ending the route by an official from the Department of Transport on June 13th. It never sent the information to management at Shannon.
Last week Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said "human error" was the reason for the delay in informing him that Aer Lingus was considering moving its service to Belfast some six weeks after it first emerged.
Mr Dempsey said there was a document in the department on June 13th, which had been released under the freedom of information legislation. It had been headed "for the information of the Minister". Neither he nor his predecessor had received it, he said.
Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O'Dowd, who will meet the DAA today, said that had the Shannon been informed of the decision it would have had more time to seek an alternative carrier.
"Noel Dempsey and the entire Government must be held accountable for this fiasco, which demonstrates a complete lack of joined-up thinking," he added.
Fianna Fáil's Tony Killeen said he was extremely disappointed with the DAA's failure to pass on the information and added that the authority's explanation "does not stand up".
He said: "Claims by the Authority that it did not pass the information on because Aer Lingus had furnished it in the strictest confidence are nonsensical considering the SAA [Shannon Airport Authority] is under its direct control".
"It raises serious questions over the DAA's commitment to Shannon, as well as its role in protecting the interests of the airport," he added.
On Saturday some 10,000 people protested in the centre of Limerick at a "Save Our Slots" rally over the Aer Lingus decision.