The airline has come in for intense criticism in the south since it announced in August that it was creating a new hub at Belfast International Airport, pulling the plug on the Shannon-Heathrow route and using the slots for a Belfast-Heathrow service instead.

Those opposed to the move claim the loss of the direct Shannon-Heathrow connection will have a negative impact on the mid-west region of the Republic.

And today's poll, carried out by Lansdowne Market Research, increases the pressure on Aer Lingus to have a rethink.

It shows the majority of people in both the Dublin and mid-west regions disagree with the airline's decision to stop flights between Shannon and Heathrow.

The poll, commissioned by the Irish Independent and RTE's Prime Time show, shows 60% of people in the western region and 40% in Dublin believe the Irish Government should force Aer Lingus to change its decision to opt out of Shannon in favour of a Belfast-Heathrow link.

Only 13% of people in the western region and 21% of those in Dublin agree with the airline's move. The poll also discovered 81% of people in the west feel that stopping the flights from Shannon is a bad decision for the Republic as a whole - and 66% of Dublin folk agree.