Tag Archives: shannon

By Owen Ryan SHANNON Airport will remain open on Friday morning, after the High Court granted an injunction preventing SIPTU from going ahead with a planned four-hour work stoppage. The work stoppage had been due to take place between 5am and 9am and SIPTU had organised it due to an ongoing dispute over a €780 million hole in the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme. It had been set to cause chaos, not just at the Clare airport, but also at Dublin and Cork. Both the Dublin Airport Authority and Ryanair challenged SIPTU in the High Court and on Wednesday evening, the Court found in their favour. While Shannon was not a party to the case, there was an agreement that the Court’s decision would also stand for the Clare airport.   Aer Lingus was not involved in the High Court case either, but it is understood that its workers who were also due to carry out a similar work stoppage will …

CLARE County Library branches in Shannon and Kilrush are to hold events as part of Teen Week 2014, which runs from March 18 to 21, featuring a series of artistic and cultural events exclusively for teenagers. This is the fourth year that the library service has run a teen programme as part of Teen Week, which is aimed at raising awareness of reading, art and culture among young adults in County Clare. The programme is supported by teachers and pupils from local second level schools. This year’s events include video production workshops, a novel exploration of great literature and hands-on experience of making music through digital technology. The same events are scheduled for both branches on alternate days and the response through bookings to date has been very encouraging. For more information about the Teen Week programme in visit www.clarelibrary.ie

GETTING new routes into Shannon is a welcome development but is but one part of the equation, according to Shannon Chamber’s chief executive. Helen Downes. Ms Downes was addressing a Chamber-hosted business breakfast at Dromoland Castle Hotel this Wednesday,  at which Ryanair’s chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley, was the keynote speaker. “In operating nine  new routes at Shannon from April, Ryanair is providing a pipeline of seats which need to be filled; it’s now up to the tourism and business sectors, and the general public, to take responsibility for filling those seats, and showing their commitment to Shannon,” Ms Downes said. The breakfast briefing, hosted by Shannon Chamber and sponsored by Shannon Airport and Shannon Heritage was attended by Chamber members and their business associates.  

KILRUSH RNLI was put on standby for a short period this Monday following a report that an aircraft was experiencing difficulties on its approach to Shannon Airport. The volunteer lifeboat crew was contacted by Valentia Coast Guard at 11.50am and made aware that the plane, described as an air to air refueller, was experiencing engine trouble as it made its way across the Atlantic. John Lamb, Kilrush RNLI Lifeboat operations manager requested the station’s volunteer crew to launch and remain on standby. Within minutes, crew members were geared up and the lifeboat was launched. Valentia Coast Guard was informed and the crew remained on the water awaiting instructions. At 12.35pm, the plane made a safe landing at Shannon Airport. The Coast Guard requested the lifeboat and the crew to stand down. Speaking following the call out, Kilrush RNLI helm, Pauline Dunleavy said, “Thankfully, the aircraft was able to make a safe landing this afternoon. It is at times like these …

CLARE  County Council’s Shannon Town Green Infrastructure Plan has won the Environmental and Sustainable Planning award in the Irish Planning Institute’s National Planning Awards at Dublin Castle. The biennial Awards aim to highlight the best examples of planning practice and honour recent projects, plans and programmes, which have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of life in urban and rural Ireland and internationally. The Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets won the overall National Planning Award. The Shannon Town Green Infrastructure Plan 2012 developed and illustrated concepts put forward as objectives in the Shannon Local Area Plan 2012-2018 to use enhanced wildlife corridors to form a network of walking and cycling routes throughout the town and linking the town centre to the estuary via a walking and cycling routes and a newly developed town park.

By Owen Ryan SHANNON Airport’s recovery has progressed much more quickly than he expected when he moved to separate it from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has acknowledged. On a visit to the airport, he said the fact that Shannon had moved into profit in 2013 (it was understood to be losing well over €100,000 a week in 2012) had surprised him. “To be brutally honest, as minister I really didn’t think the airport would manage that in year one. I thought it would have taken maybe three years for that to be done, so that’s one of the areas where we’re ahead of schedule really. It does mean that the airport is in a stronger position now to invest and to do things like build new hangars. Obviously, if you’re making losses you’re eating into your reserves and it’s harder to borrow. If you’re turning a profit, it’s much easier.” Mr Varadkar met with Shannon …

THE month of January saw a huge amount of rainfall at Shannon, Met Éireann figures show. While the amount of rainfall was above average everywhere, at few weather stations was it as extreme as Shannon, where it was 72% above average. Temperatures were very much in line with what is to be expected, while the amount of sunshine was slightly above normal.

SHANNON Airport’s decision to expand its programme of hangar development has the potential to lead to significant growth in the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector as well as the composites industry throughout the Mid-West Region, Senator Tony Mulcahy has stressed. The Shannon-based senator was reacting to the announcement by Shannon Airport that it is to embark on a programme of new hangar development after achieving full occupancy of its existing capacity. He said the new development will help Shannon to position itself as “a one-stop-shop for all airline needs”, including use of hangars to house aircraft and pilot-training, but primarily for the MRO sector. “It is clear that the future viability of Shannon Airport and surrounding businesses cannot be justified through passenger growth alone, and that the development of ancillary aviation business is key. “The level of existing use of aviation-specific hangars along with the planned construction of a new hangar means that Shannon Airport is working towards establishing …