| Shannon Airport Aerfort na Sionainne |
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| IATA: SNN – ICAO: EINN
SNN
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Commercial | ||
| Owner | Government of Ireland | ||
| Operator | DAA | ||
| Serves | Clare | ||
| Location | Shannon | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 46 ft / 14 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 06/24 | 3,199 | 10,233 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Passengers | 1,755,885 | ||
| Passenger change 09-10 | 37.2% | ||
| Aircraft Movements | 27,359 | ||
| Movements change 09-10 | 21.7% | ||
| Source: Irish AIS[1] Aircraft Movements,[2] Passengers[3] |
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Shannon Airport, (Irish: Aerfort na Sionainne) (IATA: SNN, ICAO: EINN) is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport,[3] making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island of Ireland after Dublin, Belfast International, Belfast City and Cork. The airport is located in Shannon, County Clare and mainly serves Limerick, Ennis, Galway and the south-west of Ireland.
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In the late 1930s, transatlantic air traffic was dominated by flying boats, and a flying boat terminal was located at Foynes on the south side of the Shannon Estuary. However, it was realised that changing technology would require a runway and airport.
In 1936 the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1 km2 (1.2 sq mi) site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport. The land on which the airport was to be built was boggy, and on 8 October 1936 work began to drain the land. By 1942 a serviceable airport had been established and was named Shannon Airport. By 1945 the existing runways at Shannon were extended to allow transatlantic flights to land.
When World War II ended, the airport was ready to be used by the many new post-war commercial airlines of Europe and North America. On 16 September 1945 the first transatlantic proving flight, a Pan Am DC-4, landed at Shannon from New York City. On 24 October, the first scheduled commercial flight, an American Overseas Airlines DC-4, passed through Shannon Airport.
The number of international carriers rose sharply in succeeding years as Shannon became well known as the gateway between Europe and the Americas. Limited aircraft range necessitated refuelling stops on many journeys. Shannon became the most convenient stopping point before and after the trip across the Atlantic.
In 1947 the "Customs Free Airport Act" established Shannon as the world's first duty free airport. Shannon became a model for other Duty Free facilities worldwide.
In 1958, the Irish Airline Aer Lingus began transatlantic service to the United States, using Lockheed Super Constellations for thrice-weekly service to New York City and Boston.
The 1960s proved to be difficult for Shannon Airport. With the introduction of new long range jet aircraft, transit traffic fell sharply as the need to refuel at Shannon became unnecessary.
In 1966, Aer Lingus began service between Shannon and Chicago, with a stop in Montréal, Canada. This route was taken out of service in 1979.
In 1969, it was announced that a new government agency, Aer Rianta (now the Dublin Airport Authority), would be given responsibility for Shannon Airport. Passenger numbers at the airport reached 460,000 that same year. With the increase in passengers and the introduction of the Boeing 747, it was decided that a new enlarged terminal was needed. The first commercial operation of a 747 took place in April 1971, while the new terminal officially opened in May of that year. In 1974, a major increase in fuel prices had a dramatic effect on transit traffic.
The 1980s saw a number of new airlines arrive at Shannon. Aer Rianta and the Soviet airline, Aeroflot, had signed an agreement and by 1980 Aeroflot had established a fuel farm at Shannon.[4] The fuel farm was to hold Soviet fuel and soon Aeroflot planes were stopping at Shannon to refuel en route to destinations in South, Central, and North America. The number of Aeroflot flights went from 240 aircraft in 1980, to 2000 aircraft by 1991. In 1989, US carrier Delta Air Lines launched flights from Shannon and Dublin to Atlanta and New York-JFK. The New York route was dropped after 9/11 but has since re-commenced.
During the 1990s the airport began to struggle. The bilateral agreement with the United States was renegotiated resulting in fewer planes being required to stop over in Shannon (See Shannon Stopover below). However, 1996 saw the beginning of Continental Airlines flying between Dublin, Shannon and Newark, New Jersey.
With the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Aeroflot began to suffer which was a big loss to the airport. Aeroflot had brought 250,000 passengers a year through Shannon.[5]
Shannon began to rebound in the late 1990s with the success of the Irish economy, the improving situation in Northern Ireland, and an influx of American tourists. By the end of the decade Shannon had passengers numbers of 2.2 million and in the year 2000, a new £40 million terminal extension was opened.
The first Air Services Agreement with the United States in 1945 only permitted flights to Shannon, and only permitted Irish airlines to serve Boston, Chicago and New York. In 1971, the US Civil Aeronautics Board announced that unless US planes were allowed to operate into Dublin Airport they proposed to ban Aer Lingus from landing in New York. Eventually an agreement was reached which allowed one US carrier, TWA, to service Dublin Airport through Shannon.
In 1990, the US-Ireland bilateral agreement was changed to allow Irish airlines to serve Los Angeles, and additional US airlines to serve Dublin via Shannon. An amendment in 1993 allowed airlines to provide direct transatlantic services to Dublin, but still 50% of transatlantic flights had to originate or stop over in Shannon.
In 2005, an agreement was reached regarding a transitional period. Beginning in November 2006 and ending in April 2008, the agreement eliminated restrictions on cargo services. For passenger service, it reduced the stopover requirement and allowed Irish airlines to serve three additional US destinations. Furthermore, it was agreed that at the end of this period, no restrictions would be placed on scheduled services between any airport in the one country to any airport in the other.
In 2007, the European Union and USA announced that an agreement had been reached on an open skies aviation policy. The agreement came into effect from March 30, 2008. This effectively led to the complete abolition of the Shannon Stopover, although this would have happened under the 2005 agreement anyway.
Aer Lingus announced on 15 June 2010 that it would be suspending services from Shannon to Boston and New York (JFK) for 11 weeks from January 2011.This will apply for January 2012 as well. These flights now operate 3 times weekly for the rest of the year.[6]
Shannon Airport has a history of foreign military use. A large part of its business in recent years has been military stopovers, currently almost all American; however, the airport was also frequently used by the Soviet military until the 1990s, since Ireland, having a traditional policy of military neutrality, was not a member of NATO. There were some restrictions, such as being unarmed, carrying no arms, ammunition or explosives, and that the flights in question do not form part of military exercises or operations. Shannon saw military transports throughout the Cold War and during the first Gulf War.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the Irish government offered the use of Shannon to the US government. When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, the government still allowed United States armed forces to use the airport. This caused much controversy and was the subject of protests and a challenge brought to the High Court.[7] In January 2003, a woman took an axe to the nose cone and fuel lines of a US Navy jet; however, a trial ended in her acquittal. In February 2003, a group known as the Pitstop Ploughshares damaged a United States Navy C-40 Clipper aircraft at the airport. They were tried three different times and ultimately ended up also being acquitted.
A 2007 survey found 58% of Irish people opposed the use of Shannon for prosecuting the Iraq war.[8]
As of November 2008, approximately 1.2 million troops have passed through Shannon since the beginning of the Iraq War. This has generated significant revenue for the airport and has offset the loss of flights from the end of the Shannon stopover and the general downturn in the global aviation industry.[9]
On 6 December 2005, the BBC programme Newsnight alleged that Shannon was used on at least 33 occasions by United States Central Intelligence Agency flights, thought to be part of a US policy called extraordinary rendition. The New York Times reported the number to be 33, though referring to "Ireland" rather than Shannon, while Amnesty International has alleged the number of flights to be 50. The United States has denied these allegations.
The current airport terminal was opened on the 27 March 2000 by the then Minister of Transport Mary O'Rourke. This facility has 40 check-in desks, 5 baggage carousels and 14 boarding gates (including 6 airbridges). There are nearly 40 aircraft parking stands. The car-parks can hold over 5,000 cars.[10]
Much of the older landside section of the airport has been renovated with new 'Shannon Airport' branding. An airside area renovation and passenger separation project was completed in Summer 2010.[11]
Aer Rianta International, a subsidiary of Dublin Airport Authority, has its head office on the grounds of Shannon Airport.[12] When Eirjet existed, its head office was located on the grounds of Shannon Airport.[13]
In 1986 a United States border preclearance facility was opened at Shannon, eliminating the need to go through immigration on arrival in the United States. In November 2008, it was announced that customs and agriculture inspections would be added, making Shannon the first airport in Europe to offer this service. This is expected to be a big incentive to attract airlines and corporate jets to Shannon. Shannon Airport spent €21 million on the facilities.[14] To have these facilities put in place a two story, 7,000 square metre extension to the main terminal building has been constructed. The facility opened the morning of 5 August 2009. The passengers on Continental Airlines flight CO25 from Shannon to Newark were first to use the facilities which give Shannon a unique status.
On March 1, 2010, Shannon Airport became the first airport outside the U.S. to offer U.S. Customs and Border Protection to private aircraft. The US Customs and Border Protection facility that opened at Dublin Airport in January 2011 is used for commercial aircraft only.
British Airways operates a twice-daily business class only flight from London City Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York with a stopover in Shannon. This allows them to take off from the short runway of City airport which is located in the London Docklands area, stop for fuel in Shannon while passengers go through pre-clearance and arrive without the need to go through immigration or customs.
A new cargo facility is to be built on the current cargo site.[15] The SAA (Shannon Airport Authority) have signed an agreement with the Lynxs Group to provide a 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) state-of-the-art facility at the airport.
The planned cargo port would be built at a cost of $15m and would include aircraft parking, an immediate taxiway and access to public roads. Also included are the normal cargo facilities such as chilled and freezer storage.
The DAA have finally approved the €8m for the establishment of the Lynx cargo project and this funding will be matched by a €12m investment by Lynx. Lynx Cargo is a global airport cargo facility who are specialists in international logistics services. Lynx operate their trans pacific hub from their base in Anchorage in the US and their facility at Shannon Airport will be their first real project in Europe.
The €8m committed by the DAA will be expended on constructing the Cargo Terminal, improving the road infrastructure accessing the terminal and will include new aircraft parking configurations and necessary airside works.
Note: † denotes charter airlines and their destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | London-Heathrow Seasonal: Boston, New York-JFK |
| Aer Lingus Regional operated by Aer Arann | Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester |
| Air Méditerranée † | Seasonal: Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| Air Transat | Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson |
| Delta Air Lines | Seasonal: New York-JFK[18] |
| Germania Airline † | Seasonal: Faro [begins 20 May 2012] |
| Helvetic Airways † | Seasonal: Zürich |
| Monarch Airlines † | Seasonal: Reus [begins 11 May 2012] |
| Niki | Seasonal: Graz, Linz, Vienna |
| Onur Air † | Seasonal: İzmir |
| Orbest Orizonia Airlines † | Seasonal: Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca |
| Ryanair | Gran Canaria [ends 24 March 2012], Lanzarote, Liverpool, London-Gatwick, London-Stansted, Wrocław Seasonal: Málaga, Nantes, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife-South |
| Thomson Airways | Lanzarote Seasonal: Palma de Mallorca |
| United Airlines | Newark |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| DHL operated by Bluebird Cargo | East Midlands |
| Fedex operated by Air Contractors | Cork, Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| UPS operated by Star Air (Maersk Air) | Dublin, Cologne-Bonn |
In 2010, passenger numbers at Shannon declined by 37.2% from 2,794,563 (2009), to 1,755,885 (2010).[19]
| Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom - London Heathrow | |||
| 2 | United Kingdom - London Stansted | |||
| 3 | United States - Newark | |||
| 4 | United Kingdom - London Gatwick | |||
| 5 | United States - New York JFK | |||
| Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland)[20] | ||||
| Year | Total Passengers[19] |
Passengers Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,400,000 | |
| 2001 | 2,400,000 | |
| 2002 | 2,300,000 | 4.2% |
| 2003 | 2,500,000 | 8.7% |
| 2004 | 2,500,000 | 0.0% |
| 2005 | 3,302,046 | 32.1% |
| 2006 | 3,639,046 | 10.2% |
| 2007 | 3,620,623 | 0.5% |
| 2008 | 3,169,529 | 12.5% |
| 2009 | 2,794,563 | 11.8% |
| 2010 | 1,755,885 | 37.2% |
Shannon Airport is the end destination of the N19 national route, which connects to the N18/M18 Limerick–Ennis–Galway route. A dual carriageway section of the N19 was finished in 2004, bypassing the town of Shannon, and a new interchange and dual carriageway north to Ennis were completed in 2007 on the N18 (M18).
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| Means of transport | Operator | Service | Destination | Website | |||
| - Bus | Bus Éireann | 343 | Limerick | www.buseireann.ie | |||
| Bus Éireann | 51 | Galway | www.buseireann.ie | ||||
The airport is also served by local taxis. There is a taxi rank located outside the arrivals entrance.
Car hire is available in the arrivals hall of the terminal building, with eight car rental firms located at the airport.
Shannon Airport offers both short-term and long-term parking within the airport with over 5,000 spaces available. All car parks operate 24hours and are regularly patrolled by Airport Police (Ireland).
Due to the location of Shannon, it receives a large number of emergency stopovers.
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