Tag Archives: plane

A UNITED Airlines flight from Rome to Chicago has diverted to Shannon this afternoon due to a bomb scare. It is understood that an anti American slogan was written on a mirror in a bathroom of the aircraft. Furthermore, there was a mention of a bomb being on board. The airport has remained open. At the time of writing the passengers have left the aircraft and many of them are on the tarmac outside the plane. The plane has been parked some distance away from the terminal building.

It was reminiscent of  the flying boats era on the Shannon Estuary early on Thursday morning when a giant plane was loaded on a barge for transport by sea to Enniscrone in County Sligo. The TransAero Boeing 767-200 was bought by business man David McGowan to be installed in his glamping site near the popular resort. It was a major logistical exercise, involving up to 60 people, to get the plane from Shannon Airport compound to the waters’ edge on Wednesday and onto the barge, as tides were a factor.

THOUSANDS of people have come from different parts of the country to Shannon Airport today to see the Antonov 225, the world’s largest aircraft. The plane arrived shortly before 3am from Bangor International Airport and will leave again at around 10pm. It’s wing span is greater than the width of the pitch at Croke Park and from nose to tail it is one and a half times the length of an Olympic Swimming Pool. It stands alone as the largest and most powerful jet the world has ever seen. Shannon has one of the longest runways in Europe and it is the only Irish airport the Antonov 225 has ever landed at. Niall Moloney, Shannon Airport Operations Director said the aircraft never fails to amaze. “When you see it on the taxiway here and can put its size into perspective, it’s almost unbelievable that it can get up into the skies, let alone be as graceful when it’s up there,” …