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SHANNONWATCH HAS CALLED on Transport Minister Shane Ross to explain why a plane operating on behalf of the US military was permitted to fly from Shannon Airport to Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey and back on Friday, 30 December.
Shannonwatch campaigns for the use of Shannon Airport by US military to end.
The organisation said the Turkish air base, which is located close to the Syrian border, is used by the US to launch air and drone strikes and to store part of its nuclear arsenal.
As such, Shannonwatch claimed any involvement in the delivery of military cargo or passengers to Incirlik is “a breach of Irish neutrality”.
The organisation said the plane, a Miami Air International Boeing 737, arrived at Shannon on the date in question at 1pm and took off less than two hours later. They said it spent a similar length of time at the military airbase in Turkey before returning to Shannon at 4am the following morning.
“As the minister responsible for the granting of permits to take weapons and munitions through Irish airports, does Minister Ross have information about what was on board the Miami Air plane?,” John Lannon of Shannonwatch asked in a statement.
[Ross] has expressed concerns in the past about Ireland’s lack of neutrality, so why does he allow an aircraft flying to and from a major Nato airbase like Incirlik to land at Shannon, presumably for refuelling?
“If the Miami Air plane had weapons or other dangerous cargo on board it should not have been allowed to park at the terminal building where it presented a safety risk to people using the airport and to workers.” Lannon added.
Ammunition
A spokesperson from the Department of Transport told TheJournal.ie: “Miami Air International did not notify or seek permission from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in relation to this flight. The landing at Shannon Airport was a technical stop for refuelling purposes.
Civil aircraft are not normally required to notify or seek permission for overflights of Ireland or technical stops at Irish airports. Permission is required when munitions of war are on board.
“Ireland’s procedures in relation to such flights, including in relation to munitions of war, are outlined in detail in a standard international civil aviation document known as the Integrated Aeronautical Information Package, which is published on the Irish Aviation Authority’s website (and can be read here).
The department has now contacted Miami Air International to enquire as to all the circumstances surrounding this flight.
Shannonwatch said the presence of the plane at Shannon Airport “also raises questions for the Ministers for Justice and Foreign Affairs”.
A spokesperson said the Department of Justice was “not in the position to comment” on the issue, while the Department of Foreign Affairs had not replied to a request for comment at the time of publication.
No weapons
In September, TD Clare Daly asked Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan about US military planes using Shannon Airport.
At the time, Flanagan told the Dáil: “All applications for US military aircraft to land in Shannon Airport in the period in question stated in each case that the flight met each of the conditions necessary, including that the flight did not form part of a military exercise.
“The US Embassy has also re-confirmed that the flights in question were unarmed, carried no arms, ammunition or explosives and did not engage in intelligence gathering and that the flights in question did not form part of a military exercise or operation. Permission for the flights in question to land was granted subject to these conditions.”
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If they would only spend as much time looking for a job as they do plane watching!
If they did that heaven forbid they might actually get one.
@arnaas: that has to be put-down of the year
@mickmc: <— you should try sit-down comedy mick
Someone should tell him it’s an airport, and aircraft land there.
@Nazerene: It’s a civilian Airport not a military transit hub.
You’re implying military aircraft or personnel shouldn’t / aren’t allowed to use civilian airports? Can’t find that one in Irish law.
Problem is most aircraft transporting soldiers and their weapons are civilian aircraft chartered for that purpose so it’s hard to tell which ones have civilians in board and which have military.
Won’t be happy until Shannon airport goes belly up
@tom: so we should allow the americans to do what they like around the globe, stop off at our airport to refuel on their way to another mess they caused, committing war crimes to save a few jobs at shannon?
@tdv yes is the answer to your rant.
Why all the focus on the U.S?
Shannon Airport is used by the military of over 40 countries each year as a refueling stop. It’s location at the edge of the Atlantic makes it the last refueling stop. During the cold war it was used by the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In 2014 it was used by Yemen, Australia, U.A.E., USA, and anyone else who wants to. You can’t get much more neutral than that.
@the truth: well kindly fu then
@TDV: TVD , did you ever consider many people are happy to let the US planes fuel in Shannon ?
Shannon watch are only “watching” for the yanks they slept through all the rest
@Crocodylus Pontifex: Do you think for one moment the Russians were not fully aware of this fact during the height of the cold war and in the event of a conflict in Europe and the USA using Shannon that a Russian nuclear missile wouldn’t have taken care of Shannon in 2 seconds.Remember when you play with fire you are very likely to be burned and do would “Irish neutrality”.
If there’d been WW3 no where on the planet was safe. But that’s not a dramatic statement like yours.
Not so the Russians where using Shannon during the Cold War refueling on the way to Cuba so it was an asset to them. More recently Australian soldiers on way to and from the war in Afghanistan passed through Shannon because they had to go the long way, across the Pacific and Atlantic, as South east Asian countries would not let them use their air space. There was not one voice raised in protest in Ireland during the entire 13 years of Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan.
@Crocodylus Pontifex: why focus on the US? look at the numbers
Details of the overflights in Irish airspace during the past 12 (2014)months are set out in the following table.
COUNTRY TOTAL
AUSTRALIA 1
BELGIUM 36
CANADA 20
COLOMBIA 1
COTE D’IVORE 1
CZECH REPUBLIC 7
DENMARK 3
DJIBOUTI 1
EGYPT 19
FRANCE 55
GABON 2
GERMANY 29
GREECE 4
INDIA 3
ISRAEL 1
ITALY 21
JAPAN 1
JORDAN 20
LEBANON 2
LIBYA 1
MALAYSIA 2
MEXICO 5
MOROCCO 2
NETHERLANDS 74
NEW ZEALAND 1
OMAN 4
PAKISTAN 4
PANAMA 2
QATAR 4
ROMANIA 1
SWEDEN 8
SWITZERLAND 4
UAE 1
UK 8
USA 1194
VIETNAM 3
YEMEN 1
Total 1546
https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-07-15a.291&s=foreign+military+shannon+section%3Awrans#g297.q
@tom: The sooner the better, sick of all the pollution from the planes falling down on me
@Breas: The rise of global warming came at the same time as the start of the jet age?
It’s dem chemtrails !
@Boganity: that Australia was flying to Afghanisatn through Ireland, news to most people don’t you think.
Not really it’s no secret, they then landed in Germany and changed from a civilian charter aircraft to a military aircraft from there to Afghanistan: the weird part is to overfly the USA their aircraft had to land for two hours so their identities could all be checked and recorded by USA authorities.
Shannon watch should start looking at full time job watch
Daesh doesn’t respect borders. So let’s think before we jump the gun. America can land a few planes there if it keeps daesh at bay. Because make no mistake about it daesh will come if there not stopped. And they don’t respect anything never mind our borders. There’s more going on in the world than a few planes landing in shannon airport. Next story.
@Steven Hillert: daesh will come bahahahaha, the only way they’ll come here is if the americans bring them by the hand and instruct them to hit a particular place at a particular time to suit some US agenda
@Steven Hillert: The only country stopping Daesh are the Russians. We all know who funds Daesh. The US were even protecting their massive oil convoys. If you compare the token US strikes against them to the Russians it’s about 1:1000
@Steven Hillert: 3 Irish citizens already murdered by Daesh on a beach in Tunisia – now I dont believe that man stopped to check if they were not irish before killing them. all westerners are infidels to them
Do Shannon watch protest at Russian, Canadian, French and a host of other nations military that refuel at Shannon ? Would they protest if world war three broke out and the US came to save us or if a terrorist attack were to take place in Ireland?
@John Reese: Hear hear John you said it in plain English. You are absolutely right.
@John Reese: why focus on the US? look at the numbers
Details of the overflights in Irish airspace during the past 12 (2014)months are set out in the following table.
COUNTRY TOTAL
AUSTRALIA 1
BELGIUM 36
CANADA 20
COLOMBIA 1
COTE D’IVORE 1
CZECH REPUBLIC 7
DENMARK 3
DJIBOUTI 1
EGYPT 19
FRANCE 55
GABON 2
GERMANY 29
GREECE 4
INDIA 3
ISRAEL 1
ITALY 21
JAPAN 1
JORDAN 20
LEBANON 2
LIBYA 1
MALAYSIA 2
MEXICO 5
MOROCCO 2
NETHERLANDS 74
NEW ZEALAND 1
OMAN 4
PAKISTAN 4
PANAMA 2
QATAR 4
ROMANIA 1
SWEDEN 8
SWITZERLAND 4
UAE 1
UK 8
USA 1194
VIETNAM 3
YEMEN 1
Total 1546
https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-07-15a.291&s=foreign+military+shannon+section%3Awrans#g297.q
It needed Fuel
It’s funny that the only illegal activity at Shannon airport is Shannon watch members trespassing on thr runway.
Will people cop on and grow up. ..The plane needed fuel…. wtf. ..!!!
When Putin’s motorcade is driving down O’Connell Street in a few years time after the breakup of the EU, hopefully our neutrality is still intact. Russia could make a great deepwater military port in Dingle for its nuclear subs, we can re-name it лощина
@alphanautica: how could putin get down o connell street when he’s busy hiding out under your bed
A commercial chartered aircraft making a refueling stop. Going back in prop history that’s what made Shannon a true international airport – refueling. Making a mountain out of a molehill…
@John Flood: What at foolish and nieve statement, this plane was on a mission to supply USA military installations in Turkey that is directly supplying arms to the killing fields of Syria.The next time you see a dead Syrian child, remember it was a Russian or US plane that supplied the means of death of that child and if it were US supplied arms, the plane probably refuled in Shannon. So just as like street drugs pusher, the arms pushers are using Shannon as a transit point for their cargo of death in plain sight and so many people are prepared to turn a blind eye.
@ Charles, please see Miami Air website. Given that America’s Air Force includes some massive cargo aircraft, I’ll defer to this flight carrying passengers. Cargo of death? You’re a sad lump living in a conspiratorial world.
@John Flood: Indeed I well may be a sad lump, but look at the pictures of Allepo.it’s probably the nearest thing to Stalingrad you will ever see. There are a lot of dead lumps around Alleppo. Now that destruction was caused by the arms industrial complexes of Russia and the West including the USA supplying those arms and death and destruction. Shannon is one small cog in the wheel of that arms/military complex supply route. So the next time you look at Allepo on the news just remember the roll Shannon played in that conflict. More importantly, also remember that you were OK with that.
@ charles, say it with me: “commercial passenger aircraft, commercial passenger aircraft, commercial passenger aircraft…” With the recent order for dependent family members being returned to the USA from Izmir I’d presume that is the use of this aircraft. And I’m OK with that.
Sie would should tell home we are not neutral, the. Remind him that one of his colleagues tested the use of Shannon and Irish neutrality in the Irish courts and lost on both cases
How many votes did Shannonwatch get in the last election
why don’t they protest at the Turkish airbase that these planes are going too that would be better all round for everyone sure we will even put their welfare into the bank for them while away.
Take a look at their FB page, the article about a British military jet refuelling. According to them it was for surveillance and is the first step to invasion. I s41t you not…… In other news, there is a severe shortage of tin foil in the Shannon region.
@Paul: The UK military plane had mechanical failure and had to land.. It was in Irish airspace and Shannon was its nearest port of call.. There have been many incidents with Military aircraft having near misses (reported by US media) because of over work and reduced maintenance.. This is a global problem and in a recent report from Okinawa nearly caused a crash with another plane.. There are too many of these incidents to report here.. It puts Shannon Airport and the surrounding area at risk.. Too many planes supporting too many military campaigns.. And as for surveillance evidence got o the Intercept and read the Snowden reports.. Ireland is already being monitored by mass surveillance techniques and using aircraft and drones allows them to scoop better metadata and intel without having to ask the Irish government on a case by case basis .. Tin foil hat? or just reality?
Look at it this way boss, would these crusties be kicking up a fuss if Ireland was suddenly invaded by the Russians?. I think we’d like America on our side in that situation. Let the yanks do as they please. Their population are Europe’s slaves. They are happy to spend most of their taxes on military toys with the delusion that that’s what “freedom” costs. I’m happy that they do that and watch over us coz if they didn’t European armies wouldn’t hold out against the Russians or Chinese. I won’t even go into details about how our own dads army would deal with the situation.
Long may it be so that the USA and other countries are able to rely on Irish assistance in refuelling planes and providing food and beverages for the military personnel. They are our friends and our trading partners and we should remember that pseudo communists like Shannon Watch are only interested in pursuing an agenda that benefits their very dangerous supporters. Neutrality is not real nor will it ever be, Irish men and women have battled tyranny the world over and we should support our friends who are doing the same. Have these people not seen the news lately.
the american government and army have 0 crediblilty with their self assessed info regarding their failed foreign policies and enforcement of same, they lack the ability to to tell the truth about anything when they decide behind closed doors that something is in their national interest, the rest of us be damned!!
we should join nato and be done with it let the yanks build a airforce Base and a couple of deep water ports they would pump billions into the country introduce national service to clear the lazy hoors off the dole happy days.
@the truth: stop the f-ing lights! i cant compute your ignorance so early on a mon morning
@tdv it’s a fantastic idea would clear the dole que by creating a massive amount of employment it would sort the halfwits looking over the fence of the airport.
@tdv the training would make ma of you get you off the x box and guitar
when the yanks move refuelling to Britain and the Yankee Airlines pull out of shannon beacuse of fools with F@CK all else to do the whing will start about the area being a backwater but tdv and the crusty campers will be alright sitting around a burning barrell playing the guitar smoking weed and collecting the dole.
Because NATO is on our side
@Peter Buchanan: I support Russia
@Peter Buchanan: No, as they are on the side of buying weapons from the US industrial military complex, where would the US be without supplying weapons to governments and to terrorists?
Yawn … ffs could they not go and find some other agenda. we are not neutral, never have been, never will be, its money and jobs and thats what matters to ireland.
Shannon is only open to carry American Military and their weapons to war zones. Irish Government only happy to play the game of knowing nothing.
“Shannonwatch asks Shane Ross why ‘plane on way to Nato air base’ was allowed to stop in Ireland” but they were allowed to do rendition, where volunteerswho were out helping people were kidnapped by gangs who got paid to kidnap these people and sell them to the CIA as terrorists and then the US sent them out through rendition to be tortured to death or to Gitmo where the CIA outsourced the torture there.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259777-murder-at-camp-delta
Why? The U.S. is blaming Russia for everything now in order to sell their weapons to Nato countries.
The US blames Russia for hacking when there is no evidence of hacking and at the same time the US was hacking China, India and Russia, even the CIA now has disclaimers on their so called evidence on Russia hacking stating that the evidence has no evidence to it, what a joke.
NATO will not leave Russia alone trying to make out that they are a threat and uses this to sell weapons to NATO countries. All the US cares about is selling weapons as their infrastructure falls apart.
It is provoking Russia hoping they will react to justify their teasing but what would happen if Russsia did react with their pals China and India, what then? China attach the Western U.S. as Russia attacks Eastern E.U. like Germany. Would that lead to nukes being use and that is what they get for war games?
have your say