A member of An Garda Síochána has been hospitalised following a security incident at Shannon Airport on Saturday afternoon.
Three women were arrested after they allegedly gained access to the airside area of the airport and caused criminal damage to an aircraft. It is the second security incident at Shannon this month.
Saturday’s incident occurred at around 4.30pm. The last aircraft to land beforehand touched down at around 4.25pm.
Once the security breach was detected, operations were brought to a standstill, forcing three arriving aircraft into holding patterns. Flight crews were advised by air traffic controllers that there had been an “incident” at the airport.
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The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, which was preparing to depart on a training exercise, was also grounded once operations were suspended.
It is understood fire cover at the airport was reduced as a result of personnel from Shannon Airport Police and Fire Service responding to the security incident and, without the required amount of fire cover, operations were halted.
Three women are believed to entered the airport and approached an Omni Air International aircraft parked at Stand 42 at the end of the terminal building. They are understood to have thrown red paint onto forward section of an Omni Air International Boeing 767-330(ER) aircraft that was parked there.
All three were detained and operations returned to normal shortly before 5pm.
A Garda spokesperson confirmed: “During the course of the arrests one member of An Garda Síochána was injured and has since been taken to University Hospital Limerick for assessment. Her injuries are non-life threatening. Investigations ongoing.”
Saturday’s security incident is the second of its kind at the airport this month.
On May 1st, three people were arrested after they allegedly entered the airport grounds after crashing a van into a security fence. The van was stopped from entering an airport taxiway after it got stuck in a drain.
