The organisation representing funeral directors has urged Aer Lingus to reverse its decision to stop bringing home the remains of Irish people who have died in the UK and Europe.
The airline announced it would be discontinuing the service - currently involving an average of 1,200 bodies a year - following its decision to end all short-haul cargo services from and into Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports from next January.
But calling the decision "retrograde", the Irish Association of Funeral Directors (IAFD) has written to Aer Lingus chief executive, Mr Willie Walsh, urging a change of mind.
IAFD spokesman, Mr Gus Nichols, said: "It is a service Aer Lingus has carried out for many years behind the scenes and they have done it very, very well. The vast majority of repatriation is from the UK. It is a traumatic enough time for grieving families without the inevitable delays that this decision is going to cause."
An Aer Lingus spokeswoman confirmed that the decision relating to the end of short-haul cargo service also affects the repatriation of remains. The transition to a new fleet of Airbus aircraft on short-haul routes was cited as the main reason for phasing out the cargo service.
But Mr Nichols said he had no doubt the planes would still be able to carry coffins. "I'm sure Aer Lingus have sound economic reasons for phasing out cargo, but this is different. It is someone's mother, someone's father, someone's grandparent. We never considered it as cargo and I dislike the term.
"Ryanair ended the service a number of years ago and Aer Lingus appear to be slavishly following the Ryanair model. I don't believe that this decision is going to save them very much money at all, as it is only a tiny number of flights that carries someone home back to Ireland."
He forecast that families would turn to ferry companies to bring their loved ones home: "Families that do suffer a tragedy will be faced with extra delays and extra costs."
Parish priest for the Shannon area, Father Tom Ryan, said: "The Irish have a great respect for our dead, but that has been forgotten by our national carrier in this decision." Hardly a week went by that he was not called to the mortuary at Shannon Airport in response to the remains of a deceased person being repatriated.
"Any death is devastating and anything to ease the pain should be done, but the Aer Lingus decision means that there will be nowhere along the western seaboard where bodies can be flown to. This will only add to the pain of families and I would appeal to the company to reverse their decision," Father Ryan said.
