TRANSPORTATION : Airlines’ ‘Shannon Connection’ Under Fire From Ireland’s Carrier : The gateway stopover is criticized as an anachronism in the jet age. Aer Lingus says it loses money. Western Irish defend status quo.

Shannon Airport has long been known as the gateway to Ireland from North America and has jealously guarded that designation--much to the irritation of Aer Lingus, the Irish airline.

As a result of successful lobbying decades ago by western Ireland politicians, all transatlantic flights bound to and from Dublin, Ireland’s capital and chief city, must stop at Shannon, whether the airlines wish to or not.

But Shannon’s prized status may change: Aer Lingus has asked the Irish government to review the rule requiring the Shannon stopover. Predictably, the request has raised hackles throughout the west of Ireland, which sees all those incoming flights as essential to its economy. Lobbying groups in western Ireland insist that about 100,000 jobs are directly or indirectly related to Shannon Airport.

The stopover at Shannon, on the River Shannon in County Clare, is familiar to millions of Americans who have flown to Ireland since World War II. It is a legacy of the propeller age, when transatlantic refueling stops were needed at Shannon and at Gander, Newfoundland, on the other side of the Atlantic.

As an inducement to long-range passengers, Shannon became the world’s first duty-free airport in 1947. In the early 1950s, Stan Delaplane, travel columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, who had sipped many Irish coffees at Shannon, introduced the drink at the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco. It became nationally popular, vastly increasing sales of Irish whiskey.

When longer-range jet airlines arrived, no longer needing to make the extra stop, local politicians persuaded the Irish government to require that flights to Dublin first stop at Shannon, and they launched a campaign to promote tourism in the west of Ireland. In the summer, 70% of transatlantic tourists stop at Shannon.

But today, the Irish Airline Pilots Assn. argues, the Shannon stopover is a “constraint on trade.”

They maintain that Aer Lingus, which lost money last year, could prosper financially if Dublin were allowed to receive nonstop flights from the United States and--since London’s airports are so congested--take on the role of a transatlantic feeder airport flying to regional British cities. They argue that Dublin, as the capital, is much better suited for this role than Shannon.

And if Aer Lingus were more profitable, its spokesmen say, it could still maintain some kind of daily service from Shannon to the United States.

If the mandatory landing at Shannon were waived, Joe Buckley of the Shannon Status Committee warns, Aer Lingus might abandon all flights into Shannon except at the height of the American tourist season. “The airlines would only fly to Shannon when it is profitable,” he said.

Aer Lingus, however, counters that the unnecessary Shannon stop adds time to transatlantic flights and encourages business travelers--by far the most profitable for the airlines--to fly from the United States to Dublin via London or even Frankfurt because the journey time is shorter.

Aer Lingus officials suggest that the planned new Dublin service to Los Angeles has been postponed because of the increased competition in flights between Los Angeles and London, by which a traveler can get to the Irish capital faster than by using the Shannon connection.

Shannon supporters such as Buckley argue for the concept of a “Shannon Express,” in which Shannon would connect transatlantic flights to some of the smaller British and continental cities such as Glasgow, thus speeding up travel caused by congestion at the larger airports.

Lobbyists for Shannon have amassed powerful support, and Aer Lingus’ push for direct Dublin flights is expected to provoke a bloody battle.