Shannon Airport was closed for a time this evening following a security breach where a van attempted to entered the airport.
Three people have been detained after they left the van stuck in a ditch and they ran onto a taxiway. The incident is understood to have occurred at around 6.20pm.
It’s believed that a white van crossed a grass area on the main road into the airport and crashed through the perimeter fence.
It’s understood that a number of people wearing orange jump suits, hard hats and scarves over their faces then entered the airport’s ‘air side’ area. They ran in the direction of a taxiway before were detected and quickly apprehended.
Airport Police officers responded to the scene from both airside and landside directions while Gardaí were also alerted and requested to attend.
While the front of the van managed to breach the security fence by several feet, it was prevented from making it any further by a trench that runs inside the barrier.
It’s thought that three persons then climbed out of the van and ran towards a taxiway. Once the breach was detected, flight operations were suspended.
This resulted in just a few inbound flights being placed in holding patterns until operations could resume.
A spokesperson for The Shannon Airport Group has confirmed: “Shannon Airport has resumed normal operations following an incident which required Gardai assistance. The airport suspended operations at 6.30pm and a number of flights were delayed as a result. The situation was promptly addressed by Gardai and operations fully resumed at 7.30pm.”
A spokesperson for the Garda Press Office said: “Gardaí are currently at the scene of an ongoing incident at Shannon Airport in Co. Clare. No further details are available at this time.”
