Aeroflot banned from Shannon as world on verge of nuclear war

Ireland agreed to ban Soviet airlines from the tarmac at Shannon, just 10 days before nuclear catastrophe was narrowly avoided during the Cold War.

State papers released under the 30-year rule show US president Ronald Reagan sent a direct request for the taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, to stop Aeroflot stopovers after a civilian airliner was blown out of the sky. The blanket ban was ordered after the Soviets shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 on Sep 1, 1983, near Sakhalin island in the Sea of Japan after it strayed into Russian air space.

All 269 passengers and crew, including US congressman Larry McDonald, were killed.