Tag Archives: Shannon airport

THOUSANDS of reunions took place at Shannon Airport this week, but there may not have been an embrace as warm as that between Michael and Lilly Gleeson on a rainy Tuesday evening. The 16-year-old and her grandfather hugged tightly as all around them fellow emigrants and their loved ones were catching up. Lilly actually grew up in Ireland until her family moved to Detroit six years ago and she was delighted to be back. She has visited several times but plans to move back in the relatively near future. Asked about life in Detroit, she says, “I prefer Ireland but it’s fine. Definitely for college I’ll be back here”. Her mother Aoife is also delighted to be home and looking forward to seeing all her relatives. “It’s been a few years since we had Christmas here. I can’t wait to see everybody, all the nieces and the nephews and brothers and sisters.” White Christmases almost never happen here, but that …

OVER the last decade, Clare has received very little Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but that is likely to change in the next two years, according to Shannon Group CEO, Matthew Thomas. Mr Thomas, who was appointed in May, said there is now plenty of interest in investing in the Mid West, with results likely to be seen in 2017 and 2018. At the launch of the upgraded Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Mr Thomas noted, “In my short time as CEO, there have been some very exciting enquiries. It is an uncertain world we are living in with Brexit and global political events at the moment. People are a bit nervous but we would be very hopeful that there is more FDI coming, if not in 2017, in 2018.” While Shannon Group has a large property portfolio right across the Mid West, the Free Zone is its top priority for now. “I think our immediate focus is on developing the …

Shannon Airport is set to get its first ever scheduled Lufthansa air service next summer when the airline introduces a new Shannon to Frankfurt route. The service will operate weekly on Saturday’s from April 29 to October 28 using an A319 aircraft. Welcoming the announcement Matthew Thomas, Chief Executive, Shannon Group said, “We are delighted to welcome Lufthansa to Shannon with their first scheduled service. This is a significant milestone for our airport and region by one of the world’s major airlines. “Germany is Ireland’s third-largest source of visitors and the addition of this new Frankfurt Main service is great news for the Irish tourism industry along the west coast and beyond as Shannon Airport will provide German holidaymakers with a gateway to the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way and Irish holidaymakers with an opportunity to explore a wonderful part of Germany. We look forward to working with the team at Lufthansa and our Irish Tourism industry partners to …

Santa remains top of the popularity polls with the very young as the great man’s annual Christmas flights at Shannon Airport have attracted 90,000 applications. Shannon Airport has received 45 times the number of requests for the 2,000 seats on the very special services to meet Santa in the sky on December 3 and 4 next, which is an increase of over 55% on the corresponding stage 12 months ago. Applications have been received from each one of the 32 counties and, indeed, from as far afield as the UK. The top ten counties in terms of applications include Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Tipperary, accounting for over 60% of the applications. Said Matthew Thomas, CEO of Shannon Group, which operates Shannon Airport: “We are delighted at the incredible demand for these flights but can’t say we’re entirely surprised. Is there really a better draw than Santa! “Airports are a magical place at Christmas as they are where homecomings …

Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune has warned of possible competition from other airports in the EU who may be granted customs and immigration Pre clearance by the US authorities in direct competition with Shannon and Dublin airports. Up until now, Ireland is the only EU country where passengers can pre clear US customs in both Shannon and Dublin airports. That means that passengers travelling from Shannon and Dublin Airports to America can save up to two hours of queuing at immigration in the United States by pre-clearing in Ireland. Passengers simply collect their bags once they land in the US and are free to go. The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) said pre clearance in Dublin attracted passengers from the UK and other European countries, many of whom use Ireland as a transit stop for pre clearance. Clune was speaking after the US department of Homeland Security named 11 airports this weekend as potential locations for preclearance operations. “Over the …

With industrial action by gardaí likely to go ahead on Friday and possibly on other dates in November, Shannon Airport will remain open and its security will not be compromised. Chief Superintendent John Kerin told The Clare Champion he expects that should the industrial action go ahead in its fullest form on Friday, Shannon Airport will still operate. “We have provisional plans made in the event that it does go ahead. We are confident that no flights will be impacted upon in Shannon,” he stressed. The Garda Representative Association (GRA) and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) are set to withdraw their labour on this Friday and again on November 11, 18 and 25.  The GRA said it will ballot its members on any non-binding recommendations of the Labour Court in relation to the pay dispute while the AGSI is set to attend a Labour Court hearing today. Gardaí have a role in immigration control at Shannon, while …

Santa’s busiest annual day in the region – short of December 25th itself – is already on the arrival and departure’s board at Shannon Airport, with confirmation this week that the Santa Flights are set to return next month. Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, have been confirmed by the airport as the day it will put on what has become the biggest children’s treat in the region in the build up to Christmas Day. Now in its fourth year, this year’s Santa flights will see Shannon Airport treat over 2,000 in total, comprising children and guardians, to the magical moment in the sky when they get to meet with the big man himself on board a 737 flight some 15,000ft above sea level. This year again Shannon Airport will donate proceeds from the nominal €9.99 fee to its designated charities, which for 2016 are Galway’s Ábalta Special School for children with autism and complex needs and the Irish …

Revenue officers at Shannon Airport seized €14,000 in cash, when they stopped and questioned a Chinese woman following routine profiling. The woman, in her 20s, was boarding a flight to London Heathrow for onward travel to Hong Kong. Revenue seized the cash, which was denominated in €50, €100, €200 and €500 notes, suspecting it to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity. Today, at Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan granted a three month detention order to allow Revenue to investigate further. These investigations are ongoing. Revenue officers have powers under the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, and the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act, 2005 to seize and detain cash suspected to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, any criminal activity, at the point of import – export, or in the course of operations within the State. In 2015, Revenue seized €1.6m. So far this year over €590k has been seized in 45 cases, and …