Shannon Airport was closed for a short time this morning following a security breach but operations resumed within thirty minutes.
The alarm was raised at around 9.45am when an individual was observed in a restricted area of the airport. The person, understood to be male, was seen in the vicinity of United States Air Force C130 Hercules transport aircraft that had been parked on a remote taxiway at the airport.
Airport Police officers and Shannon Airport’s own fire and rescue service responded to the incident.
Uniformed gardaí; armed detectives as well as members of the Garda Armed Support Unit also responded to the airport.
It’s understood that the person climbed onto the wing of the aircraft and caused damage to the fuselage with an implement possibly an axe.
A set of mobile stairs had to be used to reach and detain the man. He was arrested and taken into custody.
Airport Police officers carried out a patrol of the airport perimeter in an effort to locate the area where the individual gained access to the facility.
Two departing flights were slightly delayed while one arriving aircraft from Lourdes was placed in a holding pattern after the crew had been advised by air traffic controllers of a ‘security breach’ at the airport. About 20 minutes later the aircraft was cleared for its approach and landed at 10.22am.
A spokesperson for The Shannon Airport Group has confirmed that Shannon Airport has resumed operations following an incident this morning which required Garda assistance.
The airport suspended operations at approximately 9.50am and resumed operations at 10.15am.”
A comment is awaited from An Garda Síochána.
