Tag Archives: Shannon airport

SHANNON-BASED Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy says the news that Shannon Airport recorded a 15% increase in passenger traffic during the first half of 2014 is “a welcome development in light of the impending formal establishment of Shannon Group plc.” The Shannon Aviation Services and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill recently passed through the Dáil and is shortly expected to be ratified by the Seanad. The legislation will result in the setting up the new Shannon Group to take control of the running Shannon Airport and its surrounding landbank. According to Senator Mulcahy: “Ever since independence was secured from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), significant progress has been made by management at Shannon Airport in reversing the downward trend for passenger traffic. The expansion of existing services and the commencement of new services to and from Shannon has re-established the airport as Ireland’s second busiest airport, behind Dublin, which is an outstanding achievement for everyone concerned. It is further evidence of the …

Eighty-year-old peace activist, Margaretta D’Arcy  was brought to Limerick Prison on Wednesday  after she presented herself at a garda station in Galway. On June 24, Ms D’Arcy of 10 St Brigid’s Place, Woodquay, Galway and Niall Farrell, a 60-year-old man with an address at Ballynacloghy, Maree, Galway were both found guilty of interfering with the proper use of Shannon Airport on September 1, 2013, at a sitting of Ennis District Court. The defendants were sentenced to two weeks in prison, which was suspended on condition that they enter a bond to stay away from restricted areas of Shannon Airport, something Ms D’Arcy refused to do. Speaking on Wednesday, Ms D’Arcy’s son Finn Arden said, “She brought herself to the garda station in Galway at 11am this morning and then she was carted off in a garda car to Limerick.” Speaking about his mother’s frame of mind on Wednesday, he said, “Gardaí came to the house earlier and they wanted to …

STAFF costs at Shannon Airport in 2013 came to €17.17 million last year according to the accounts, with an average cost per employee of slightly over €65,000. Wages and salaries came to €14,312,000, social welfare costs were €1,469,000, pension costs were €1,076,000 and other staff costs came to €315,000. The average number of weekly employees during the year was 263, 200 working in operations and administration and 63 on commercial. In the section on director’s remuneration it states that €87,685 was paid in fees to them. Shannon Airport Chair Rose Hynes received the largest amount, which was €20,688. Under the same heading it states that the amount paid for other emoluments came to €236,458. With regard to payment of Shannon Airport Authority Chief Executive Neil Pakey, the accounts state that his basic salary for a single year is €175,000. “Total remuneration in respect of the Chief Executive Officer from the date he commenced employment with the Company, being June 10, …

Officers from Revenue’s Customs Service at Shannon Airport seized €20,000 on Tuesday when they stopped and searched a 36- year-old male passenger, during a routine operation, as he was about to board a flight to Paris. The cash was seized by Revenue in accordance with the proceeds of crime legislation. At Ennis District Court this Wednesday morning, officers were granted a three month detention order in respect of the cash by Judge Patrick Durcan in order to carry out further investigations.

Shannon Airport has always enjoyed a lot of goodwill from the people of Clare and now an attempt is being made to harness that support in a formal way. A meeting will take place at the airport on Wednesday, July 16, to which anyone who may be interested in becoming part of a new independent voluntary support group is invited. Shannon’s chief executive, Neil Pakey was previously managing director of Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport and representatives of Friends of Liverpool Airport will be at the event to answer questions on how they operate and how a similar Shannon organisation might be structured. Mr Pakey will chair the meeting. He said there is a special connection between the people of the Mid-West Region and its airport. “There is a quite unique relationship between the region here and their airport. The public sees Shannon as much more than an airport; it is a central pillar for the wider region. There has been …

A full field of 1,200 runners, joggers and walkers, will come to the starting line for this Friday night’s unique event at Shannon Airport. The runway will be closed for more than three hours, from 10.45pm until 2am, for the 5km night-time run, which is in aid of the Samaritans. The event is expected to raise in excess of €15,000 for the designated airport charity. Shannon operations director, Niall Maloney said if there were twice as many places available, they could easily have been filled. “The attraction of running in Ireland’s first ever night-time runway event proved even greater than we anticipated, as we are fully subscribed for the event and there has been a rush over recent days of applicants that we have unfortunately had to turn down. Our capacity for the event is 1,200 and we could probably have done twice that amount, such has been the interest,” he said. The run will commence at the terminal building, from where the participants, all …

Proposals in respect of pension rights for airport workers in a Bill currently before Dáil Eireann “have no relevance” for the future of Shannon, it has been claimed. The State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014, will establish Shannon Group PLC on a statutory basis and will incorporate both the Shannon Airport Authority and Shannon Development “The Bill contains proposals which will affect pension rights of workers and former workers, not only in Shannon but also those who worked for Aer Rianta/DAA and Aer Lingus in other airports in the State,” ClareDeputy Michael McNamara noted “These proposals have no particular relevance to the future of Shannon Airport and they would seem to me to be misplaced in a Bill, the title of which suggests, is primarily about Shannon.  Therefore, I would like to see these proposals removed from Bill, so that they can be discussed further, without causing delay to the passage of the provisions which concern Shannon specifically. “Undoubtedly, this Bill marks …

Two anti-war protestors have been found guilty of interfering with the proper use of Shannon Airport by going onto the main runway last September. Margaretta Darcy aged 80 of 10 St Brigid’s Place, Woodquay, Galway and Niall Farrell aged 60 of Ballynacloghy, Maree, County Galway pleaded not guilty to a single charge of interfering with the proper use of Shannon Airport on September 1, 2013 contrary to the Air Navigation Transport Act 1950. The trial opened at Ennis District Court before Judge Patrick Durcan on Tuesday where evidence was heard from Independent Deputy Clare Daly TD, Irish Times security analyst Tom Clonan, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairéad Maguire, University of Limerick lecturer John Lannon, peace activist Ed Horgan, airport police officers, Shannon airport officials and gardaí. During the hearing evidence was given that the two defendants were found to be on the main runway of Shannon Airport on the date in question, wearing orange boiler suits and carrying placards stating …