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Shannon Airport , or '''Aerfort na Sionna''' in Irish , is Ireland 's main transatlantic airport. 2.4 million passengers travelled through Shannon in 2004 , making it the fourth busiest airport in Ireland. Shannon is situated in County Clare in the mid-west of Ireland , just 15km from Limerick City . The airport is operated by the Shannon Airport Authority . Shannon Airport mostly handles transatlantic flights and flights to Britain . Shannon and Dublin are the only two European airports with U.S. Border Preclearance facilities. Foreign Military Use of its facilities has been a cause of concern to Irish popular opinion. HISTORY In the late 1930s , transatlantic air traffic was dominated by Flying Boats and the 'European Terminal' was 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 Irish Government confirmed that it would develop a 760 acre (3.1 km²) site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport. The area where the airport was to be built was extremely boggy so work wasn't easy. On October 8 , 1936 work began on draining the land. By 1942 a serviceable airport had been established and that new airport was called 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 September 16 , 1945 the first transatlantic proving flight, a Pan Am DC-4 , landed at Shannon from New York . On October 24 , the first scheduled commercial flight passed through Shannon Airport. It was a Douglas DC-4 which belonged to American Overseas Airways . Trans World Airways ( TWA ), Pan American Airways ( Pan Am ) and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) also began operations in 1945 . The number of international carriers rose sharply in succeeding years as Shannon became well known as the gateway between Europe and the Americas . Limitation of aircraft range necessitated the interruptions of journeys for refuelling. Shannon became the most convenient and obvious 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, where transit and embarking passengers were exempt from normal customs procedures. Shannon became a model for other Duty Free facilities throughout the world. In the same year, the airport was finally completed. In 1947 Aer Lingus decided to begin its own transatlantic service. Five Lockheed Constellation aircraft were delivered with the inaugural flight due to take place on March 17 , 1948 . However financial difficulties and the election of a new government in Ireland meant the plan had to be dropped. Over the next ten years even more new airlines and aircraft still continued to operate out of Shannon. In 1958 Aer Lingus finally began services to the United States using Lockheed Constellation s. The 1960s proved to be a tough decade for Shannon Airport. Transit traffic fell sharply as there was no longer the need for planes crossing the Atlantic to re-fuel at Shannon because they could now reach their European destinations non-stop with longer-range jets. Alitalia , Sabena , Lufthansa and KLM all ended their services through Shannon. However, while some airlines were ending their Shannon services Aer Lingus expanded its transatlantic routes with Boeing 720 s and later Boeing 707 aircraft. In 1969 it was announced that Aer Rianta would be given responsibility for Shannon Airport as well as for Cork Airport . Passenger numbers at the airport reached 460,000 that same year so it was decided that a new enlarged terminal would have to be built. The invention of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet also meant that better facilities were needed. The first commercial operation of a Boeing 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. Pan Am ended all its scheduled operations at Shannon. It did however continue charter services through the airport. Other airlines also pulled out of Shannon. The 1980s saw a number of new airlines arrive at Shannon. Aeroflot of Russia used the airport as a fuel stop while Delta Air Lines began new services to Atlanta and New York . In 1986 a US Immigration pre-clearance facility was opened at Shannon, thus cutting down on the time spent queueing on arrival in the United States . 1989 saw Pan Am return to Shannon operating scheduled services. In 2004 , a separate airport authority for Shannon, Shannon Airport Authority was set up in shadow form. Under the State Airports Act 2004, this company must prepare a business plan for Shannon Airport before taking over operation of the airport (from Dublin Airport Authority ) not earlier than May 2005. Passanger numbers grew by 32% in the first half of 2005, largely due to the addition of several new routes by Ryanair . {Link without Title} THE "SHANNON STOPOVER" The United States - Ireland ''bilateral'' or Air Services Agreement requires that air carriers operating between the United States and Ireland must provide capacity into Dublin Airport and Shannon. The rule came from the days when aircraft did not have a long range and were forced to stop at Shannon. The rule used to require a stop in both directions but was relaxed to require one direct Shannon flight for each direct Dublin flight. Accordingly some services are operated US-Dublin-Shannon-US. A similar bilateral rule exists between Ireland and Canada . There are exceptions for some charter services. The first Air Services Agreement with the US in 1945 only permitted flights to Shannon and only permitted Irish airlines to serve Boston, Chicago and New York JFK. At the end of 1971 the US Civil Aeronautics Board announced that unless US planes were allowed operate into Dublin Airport they proposed to ban Aer Lingus from landing in New York . This provoked an instant reaction from the Shannon staff. Eventually an agreement was reached which allowed one US carrier to service Dublin Airport through Shannon. TWA was the designated airline. In 1990 the U.S. - Ireland bilateral agreement was changed to allow Irish airlines serve Los Angeles and additional US airlines to serve Dublin via Shannon. The most recent amendment in 1993 allowed airlines to provide direct transatlantic services to Dublin. The powerful Shannon lobby were outraged at the loss of the Stopover Status, however, in reality little has changed. The September 11th terrorist attacks in New York severely threatened the future of Shannon Airport. Aer Lingus and Delta Air Lines reduced their services while other airlines pulled out completely. However, since then a number of new airlines have started new services such as US Airways and Air Canada . A dispute with the . It is also believed the Commission requires the "Shannon stopover" to be fully removed rather than further relaxed, because of the Commission's desire (at point 34) to take over negotiations with non-EU countries as it does in other areas of trade, which would remove the stopover as a matter for the Irish Government to control directly. Politicians, unions and business groups in the Shannon area believe the EU Commission would use its mandate to sacrifice the Shannon stop, fearing most existing services would relocate to Dublin if not required to serve Shannon. The Dublin . Aer Lingus , Ireland's sole scheduled transatlantic carrier as of 2005 , is in favour of air service liberalisation, believing that the ability to serve more US markets would be more advantageous to its future than the current regime. This would also mean that transatlantic routes could develop between the US and Cork International Airport , which is unable to develop scheduled flights due to the current Stopover Status at Shannon. Many in Shannon fear this would lead to the downfall of the airport as many passengers might choose to opt for Cork. On , the United States Secretary Of Transportation and Martin Cullen , the Irish Minister Of Transport regarding a transitional deal beginning November 2006 and ending April 2008 which eliminates restriction on cargo services and for passenger services reduces the stopover requirement and increases the number of US ports Irish airlines can serve by three. At the end of this period, no restrictions will be placed on scheduled services between any airport in one country to any airport in the other. FOREIGN MILITARY AIRCRAFT AT SHANNON Shannon Airport also has a history of foreign military use. A large part of its business is military stopovers, currently almost all American; however the airport was also frequently used by the Soviet military until the 1990's. There were some official restrictions, such as no weaponry being allowed and uniformed foreign soldiers remaining out of public areas. However they were rarely enforced, and uniformed U.S. soldiers are seen daily in the public areas of the airport. Shannon saw military transports throughout the Cold War and during both Gulf Wars . Recently the airport has been the subject of protests, Direct Action s and High Court actions over such usage. In April 2003 the ) which affirm Ireland's commitment to the rule of International Law were stated by the government as being only "aspirational". A further High Court ) re-scheduled judgement for December 13 2005 . She turned down the legal challenge. Though her written judgement is still not available, the judge did say this in court: "I have found that on the current materials before the court that the applicant has not satisfied me that the events occurring in Afghanistan constitute a war for purposes of Article 28.3.1." A group of George W. Bush . Financial figures released in April 2005 show that the airport lost €2.5m, whilst the transport of US troops made an income of €18m for the airport. In May 2005 the Minister for Transport revealed that the state pays the €10m annual cost to air-traffic control due to US military aircraft in Irish airspace {Link without Title} , under the . Rendition On 6 December 2005, the Dermot Ahern , who had pledged to investigate rendition if presented with evidence. United States Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice denied that the US transfers prisoners knowing that they will be tortured. Her statement ([http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4500630.stm transcript ) included the following: ''The United States does not transport, and has not transported, detainees from one country to another for the purpose of interrogation using torture. The United States does not use the airspace or the airports of any country for the purpose of transporting a detainee to a country where he or she will be tortured. The United States has not transported anyone, and will not transport anyone, to a country when we believe he will be tortured. Where appropriate, the United States seeks assurances that transferred persons will not be tortured.'' However, Rice refuses to give confirm or deny reports of secret detention facilities. A week earlier, Ms Rice assured Foreign Minister Ahern that the airport had not been used for "untoward" purposes, or as a transit point for terror suspects. ALLEGATIONS OF STATE AID The into incentives given to Ryanair to operate a base at the airport. Incentives provided by State owned airports such as Shannon are mandated by EU legislation to be reported to the Commission by the Irish Department Of Transport . A similar case is ongoing in the European Courts regarding a deal between Ryanair and Charleroi Brussels South Airport in Belgium . GROUND TRANSPORTATION Shannon Airport is the end destination of the N19 National Route , which connects to the N18 Limerick – Galway route. A new dual-carriageway section of the N19 was finished in 2004 , bypassing Shannon Town , and a new interchange and dual-carriageway north to Ennis were completed on the N18. Regular bus services connect the airport to Limerick, Ennis and Galway. Like all airports in Ireland, Shannon currently has no rail connection. However there are early discussions of a private €60m project to connect the airport to the Limerick-Ennis line, a distance of 10km. {Link without Title} AIRLINES USING SHANNON ''SNN'' is one of the hubs of Irish flag Carrier, Aer Lingus. Europes' low fares airline, Ryanair Ryanair operates a base at the airport and flies to 23 destinations. Shannon Aerospace and Air Atlanta Aero Engineering provide aircraft maintanence services and Lufthansa provide an aircraft painting service. Most recent expansion is Ryanair's flights to Faro, Biarritz ,Carcassone, Krakow and Venice Passenger Airlines (as of February 2006) Europe
North America
Cargo Airlines
Airlines which previously used Shannon
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