Tourism and business in Galway and Kerry would suffer if Aer Lingus services from Dublin ceased, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) warned yesterday.
The IHF president, Ms Mary Fitzgerald, said: "The proposed withdrawal of air services from these two key regional airports would result in the further economic isolation of both regions proving destructive to the local tourism industry. In an environment where over 132,000 passengers use their air routes annually, a withdrawal decision makes no sense."
Ms Fitzgerald said low-cost fares, ease of access to and within a destination, and frequent and reliable services were major factors determining where a tourist went. Regional airports were integral to the choice of location and to assist the spread of tourism more evenly throughout the country.
Currently, these routes receive a Government subsidy under EU regulations which allow support for routes considered vital for the a region's economic development.
The IHF yesterday called on the Government to make the subsidies provided to the two routes available to any operator who would provide alternative services, and also to operators on routes serving Knock, Sligo, Donegal and Derry.
It is also seeking a national review of all subsidies within the context of a long-term plan for regional and international route development in Ireland.
The Galway route receives a subsidy of just under £1.1 million and the Kerry route receives just over £750,000 annually.
The IHF, which represents over 900 hotels and guest houses in the State, said the withdrawal of the services in Kerry and Galway will increase the economic isolation of both regions, make it more difficult and costly for tourists to get to both regions, increase the costs to local business by making journey times longer, increase congestion on the roads, and hit at the economic viability of both airports, whose financial positions had been greatly weakened by the loss of duty-free sales.