Photographs taken today (Oct 11th) at Shannon Airport show US soldiers looking like they are in a US military base.
This is the stark reality of how our airport is being used to support US warfare around the world. And its not a once-off; its an almost daily occurrance despite our governent claiming that we are neutral.
This list has been compiled by Shannonwatch based on our records of landings by US military and military contracted flights at Shannon Airport. It covers the period August 1st to December 31st 2024.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the US military related planes that came through Shannon in this period. However it does show the extent to which the airport is facilitating US military operations abroad.
All the flights listed are either US military or US military contracted flights.
Photo shows US military Hercules aircraft at Shannon on a previous occasion.
This week a Parliamentary Question was submitted to Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris by Mairead Farrell TD in relation to five US Air Force planes at Shannon. In his response he once again refuses to tell the truth about these aircraft, and ignores the contradictions in the standard departmental reply.
At the national gathering in Shanon on August 9th, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Shannonwatch presented a letter for the Garda Commissioner to the Superintendent in charge. The demands were to investigate airlines illegally transporting munitions of war through Irish territory to Israel, and to inspect all US military and military contracted aircraft that land at Shannon.
Any support for the US military is support for the genocide in Gaza. So it's time this support was ended. But in the meantime the planes cannot pass through uninspected.
Here is the full text of the letter.
There were at least 5 US warplanes at Shannon on Friday 25th July 2025 ...
Omni Air N819AX landed at about 22.49 on Thursday night coming from Kuwait with stops also at Poznan Poland and Nuremberg in Germany. It took off again about 02.48 on Friday morning and flew on to Texas.
Omni Air N828AX landed at about 07.00 coming from Baltimore MD. It took off again about 11.05 and flew on to Sofia in Bulgaria. From there it went on towards the Middle East.
National Air N828CA landed at about 12.12 coming from Alexandria in Louisiana.
We're delighted to support the activists who are holding a 36 hour peace camp and vigil at Shannon Airport Roundabout from 6:00 a.m. on Saturday 12th July until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday 13th July.
Their statement about the camp is as follows:
For the past year, every Sunday, from 9am until 12 noon, this group of peace activists have stood on the Shannon Airport Peace Roundabout to call on the Irish government to respect Irish neutrality and to stop allowing the U.S. military use our civilian Shannon Airport as a transit hub for U.S. military personnel and weapons transfer. Shannon Airport has, in the past, supported the US war on Iraq; a war based on the false claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Ireland has supported the U.S. military use of ‘extraordinary rendition’ (state-sponsored abduction, or, kidnapping) via Shannon Airport.
Yesterday as Israel began another murderous war, this time against the people of Iran, Shannon Airport continued to refuel US and NATO aircraft.
On Wednesday, 11th June, Omni Air N468AX landed at Shannon coming from Naples, Crete and the Persian Gulf. It took off about 01.26 on Thursday morning heading towards the US.
On Wednesday May 21st Limerick will host a Neutrality Roadshow that looks at the government’s proposed plans to dismantle the mechanism that regulates the deployment of Irish Defence Forces overseas known as the Triple Lock as well as other aspects of Irish neutrality. The event is part of a one-month tour of Ireland to host conversations with local communities at a time when Ireland’s commitment to peace and international justice is more important than ever.
The Limerick event is organised by Shannonwatch and will take place at 7pm in STARLING, 31 Nicholas Street, V94W276 (opposite the Cinema Cafe).
In March 2024 we published a list of US military and military contracted aircraft that landed at Shannon Airport or travelling through Irish airspace between 7th October 2023 and 17th March 2024. Most of them were going to or from the Middle East.
We have continued to monitor this flagrant abuse of Irish neutrality on a daily basis, and in this article we publish a list of aircraft we have recorded at Shannon between 18 March and 31 July 2024.
As we gathered at Shannon today wiith our friends from The People of Clare Against Genocide, there was a US Navy C-130 Hercules registration 16-4993 at the airport.
The Gardai who were standing between us and the airport were asked to search it, as there are reasonable to grounds to believe it could be involved in a military operation or have weapons on board. Neither are permitted under the conditions covering the landing of foreign military planes at the airport.
