Business and community leaders have been accused of crying "crocodile tears" by Senator Joe O'Toole over Aer Lingus's decision to pull out of the Shannon to Heathrow route.
Mr O'Toole said he had little sympathy for business and tourism leaders as they had not contributed to the debate before Aer Lingus was privatised.
He said local groups and representatives around Shannon and Cork had sought guarantees that such routes and businesses would be protected when the airline was privatised.
"What were the same chambers of commerce and industrialists saying when a small few of us pointed out that Irish regions, particularly the west, would be the potential losers to the Aer Lingus privatisation.
"Aer Lingus has a responsibility to its shareholders and to nobody else," Mr O'Toole said.
Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) president Jackie Cahill said the Government's failure to secure the Shannon-Heathrow air service proved it was "disengaged".
"The decision of Aer Lingus to deprive the midwest of a vital air service falls squarely within this category of abdication. It is vital for the continued development of the food sector in the midwest region that this service is maintained."
Michael D. Higgins, TD for Galway West and Labour president, said the impact would be felt all along the western seaboard if the move is allowed to go ahead.
"When Aer Lingus was being privatised it was recognised that the Heathrow slots were an important national asset. We were assured by the-then minister for transport, Martin Cullen, that the articles of association of the privatised company would ensure that the slots would be protected. The Government must now deliver on those assurances."