Two people, believed to be former US soldiers, have been arrested at Shannon Airport following a security breach this morning.
It’s understood the pair had breached the airport perimeter in an attempt to reach a civilian aircraft used to transport troops for the US military. The Omni Air International jet was parked at the terminal building at the time.
The pair, who didn’t reach the aircraft, were spotted at around 10.30am by Gardaí and Airport Police officers. They were quickly detained and taken to Shannon Garda station for questioning.
Just one arriving flight was delayed for a time following the security incident. The inbound cargo flight was placed in a holding pattern for a short time before being cleared to land about 40 minutes after the breach was detected.
Operations at Shannon were otherwise unaffected by the breach.
A Garda spokesman confirmed that two people have been arrested and are being questioned at Shannon Garda station.
The two are believed to be part of a group called US Veterans for Peace who are visiting Ireland giving talks and highlighting their opposition to the use of Shannon Airport as a refuelling stop for US military flights.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport confirmed: “Two intruders were apprehended on the Shannon Airport airfield at approximately 10.25am. They were intercepted and detained within five minutes and taken into Garda custody.”
During a follow-up security patrol, a section of damaged fence was discovered. Airport staff carried out repairs to the fence during the afternoon.