The airline will withdraw the service from January on and redundancies are being offered to ground staff working in areas like check-in and baggage handling.

“Two out of the five staff sections at Shannon Airport will be affected and people are hoping to get more information before the end of the week,” he said.

“There are always a few workers in any such situation who are happy to go but for the most part, people are not happy with the move. Everyone is concerned about the implications of the loss of the routes and that it may be harder to find a new job in the current climate.”

Staff must apply for the package by December 14.

Details of the severance deal have not yet been announced but it is believed that staff will be offered a similar deal to that given to employees in 2004 when redundancies were introduced as a cost cutting measure.

At that time, more than the required 1,300 staff applied for the package, which offered a minimum lump sum of €40,000.

Mr Kinnane also implied that the group had “big” plans for further action on the issue that could be announced as soon as this afternoon (Wednesday November 7) but he declined to give further details.

Aer Lingus employs 398 staff at Shannon—168 cabin crew, 123 ground staff, 73 maintenance staff and 34 cargo staff.

The Mayor of Clare, Councillor Patricia McCarthy, said last week that the redundancy announcement was the “beginning of the effects of the Aer Lingus withdrawal”.

She added that there are concerns about the airline’s commitment to Shannon and its transatlantic service in particular.

Limerick Labour TD Jan O’Sullivan said the redundancies might only be the start of potential job losses for the mid-west.

Aer Lingus Chief Dermot Mannion also imposed a recruitment freeze as the company makes internal changes.

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