Tag Archives: Shannon airport

AFTER nearly two years, transatlantic flights resumed at Shannon this Thursday, writes Owen Ryan, with the departure of an Aer Lingus service to Boston, followed by the resumption of its New York service tomorrow. Representatives from multinational companies, the tourism sector and local politicians all attended an event to mark the first flight, and addressing those in attendance Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine said it was very heartening to see connectivity to America restored. “As all of you know we have a very rich history here of air links to the US and the east coast of the United States so it’s really great news today that they are being restored. We’re really excited as well to see US visitors back on our shore, and we are joined this morning by many members of the tourism sector, the hospitality sector.” She said that the sector is emerging from a uniquely difficult time and the return of Americans is very welcome. …

THE new US Ambassador to Ireland who was appointed this month paid a visit to Shannon Airport on Monday. During her visit Ambassador Claire D. Cronin met with Pádraig Ó Céidigh, Chairman, Shannon Group, and Mary Considine, Shannon Group CEO and was briefed on activities at Shannon Airport and across the Shannon Campus. It was her first visit to Shannon since presenting her credentials to President Michael D Higgins earlier this month. Welcoming the Ambassador to Shannon Airport, Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said; “Shannon has a proud tradition of welcoming visitors from all over the world. Statesmen and women, movie stars, celebrities and every US president since John F Kennedy have been welcomed at Shannon Airport over the years. “We were delighted to continue that tradition by welcoming the first female US Ambassador to Ireland since Jean Kennedy Smith in 1998, who was a regular visitor to Shannon. “The visit of Ambassador Cronin was timely as we look forward …

DRUGS with an estimated value of €50,000 have been seized at Shannon Airport with the assistance of detector dog Harley. Revenue officers seized 2.5 kgs of herbal cannabis concealed within metal cans manifested as “Jasmine Tea”. The consignment had originated in the US and was destined for an address in Cork. Separately, at Dublin District Court Revenue officers were granted a three-month cash detention order by Judge John Campbell. This followed the seizure on 18 February 2022 of €10,000 at Dublin Airport. The cash was discovered when, as a result of routine profiling, Revenue officers stopped and searched a passenger prior to boarding a flight to Instanbul, Turkey. The cash is suspected to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity and is detained by Revenue in accordance with proceeds of crime legislation. Investigations into both seizures are ongoing. These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting organised crime groups and the importation, sale and supply …

A major multi-agency emergency operation, also involving an RNLI lifeboat, was put in place in Clare this morning for a cargo aircraft which declared a Mayday over the Atlantic. The Cargolux Boeing 747-400(ER) jet, which was travelling from Miami in the US to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was about an hour west of Ireland when the crew declared a Mayday reporting a possible fire in a hold. There were three crew on board. Once the crew of flight CV-92F had notified air traffic controllers here of their emergency, a major multi-agency response was mounted at Shannon involving the airport’s own fire and rescue service; local authority fire service, National Ambulance Service and Gardaí. The Irish Coast Guard and RNLI were also alerted. The flight crew advised controllers that they had a fire alarm on the main deck but they were unable to conduct a visual inspection to confirm whether there was actually a fire on board. The flight was cleared …

MINISTER for Transport Eamon Ryan faced questions on a range of issues when he met Clare county councillors on last week’s visit. Topics like the future of farming, limits on development in Clare and the impact of increased carbon levies were all on the agenda. While the Green Party have some support in Clare there is no doubt there is also a large degree of animosity towards them, and that was reflected in much of what was said by the councillors. However there was also a large degree of respect towards Ryan for coming to Clare to engage with them, and for the fact that he stood by his views even though many of those he was addressing disagreed with him. Mr Ryan told the meeting that the scale and speed of the change required to deal with climate change is “beyond compare”. He also said that he believes a consensus must be built, if it is to be effective. …

WHILE Shannon Airport has faced numerous crises over the last 20 years, one of its steady sources of revenue has been the ongoing business provided by the US military. How clearly this military use meant the alignment of Ireland with US policies has been hotly debated, with many protestors arguing it has left Ireland implicated in numerous human rights abuses, while successive Governments have argued neutrality is not compromised. Every Government that has allowed the US military use has been led by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, but as time goes by it looks like that may not happen after the next election, with opinion polls showing Sinn Féin are likely to be the biggest party. The party is a staunch critic of the US military use of the airport, and while other parties have raised concerns before entering Government, if Sinn Féin does enter government it is very likely to be as the senior rather than junior party …

THE cost of providing military assistance to gardai for duties at Shannon Airport has come to nearly €800,000 over the last three years, writes Owen Ryan. In the Dáil Deputy Catherine Connolly asked Minister for Defence Simon Coveney for details on the expenditure and in reply he said that in 2019 it came to €214,213, in 2020 it was €270,708 and last year €273,027. Mr Coveney said, “Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces is the provision of Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) which, in practice, means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested. “I am satisfied that there is ongoing and close liaison between both An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, and between my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality regarding security matters generally, including the Defence Forces ATCP roles.” He said costs relate to security duty allowance paid to members of the Defence Forces, rations and fuel.

HOLLYWOOD superstar John Travolta landed his private jet in Shannon yesterday and posted a video on Instagram of his trip. The star of films like Pulp Fiction, Grease, Face/Off and many more posted the short video and in the style of a flight captain addressing the passengers said, “So tonight our flying time from Florida to Shannon is seven hours and four minutes, just so everybody knows. And I’ll see you… I’ll film when we arrive.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by John Travolta (@johntravolta) After landing he posted further footage from Dromoland Castle thanking fans for supporting his daughter Ella who is forging a career as a pop star. He employed a fairly dubious Irish accent to say “So, I’ve arrived safely in Ireland. As the Irish say, ‘life is what you make it,’ it is, it is.”