US flights bypass Shannon over attacks

US military flights carrying thousands of troops were pulled from Shannon in the past week due to safety concerns following the attacks at the airport.

The Government confirmed last night one of the largest commercial airlines taking US troops to the Gulf has ceased using the airport as a stopover. World Airways pulled out at least 17 charter flights, refuelling at Frankfurt airport instead.

Aer Rianta is understood to be unaware of the airline’s future intentions, despite Government assurances that there would be no repeat of the recent embarrassing attacks on military aircraft.

The decision is a major blow to the local economy in Shannon and the airport’s reputation internationally.

Aer Rianta refused to verify the reports or confirm the volume of business lost, stating it did not comment on individual airline activities.

Shannon stopovers by commercial airlines carrying military personnel were worth €9 million to Aer Rianta last year - 10% of overall revenue at the airport.

Yet US President George Bush’s special envoy said the US government was satisfied the security problem had now been rectified and overall co-operation from the Irish government has been strong.

President’s Bush’s special adviser on Northern Ireland, Richard Haass, described the attacks as outrageous and said it was ironic that self-proclaimed peace protestors would be engaged in such activities.

“We are reassured by what we have heard from the Government here. Shannon is extremely useful, given the capacity of the airfield and its location. What we have here is a technical problem that is on its way to being fixed,” Mr Haass said.

At a meeting with Mr Haass, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern expressed regret at the Shannon breaches and said the Government intended to step up security.

This afternoon, 120 army troops will go on duty at Shannon as security is substantially beefed up.

Defence Minister Michael Smith said the army will provide round-the-clock cover and airport users could be confident of the effectiveness of the security.

“They will see from the action being taken that every measure is being undertaken to ensure the airport is secure,” he said.

Also in the past week, 20 US military aircraft transporting weapons passed through Shannon. The Department of Transport has now granted permission to land to 46 planes carrying munitions of war.

Anti-war protesters dismantled the so-called Peace Camp at Shannon Airport yesterday. The protesters, who set up the camp to oppose the US military use of Shannon, said their demonstration had been turned into a media circus in recent days.

Aer Rianta had served the Peace Camp with notice of a High Court action seeking to have them removed from the area.

Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein declared last night that Iraq does not have a relationship with al-Qaida and his country has no weapons of mass destruction.

Later today, US Secretary of State Colin Powell is set to present evidence at the UN Security Council that Iraq has hidden large caches of weapons from international inspectors and defied calls to disarm.