Six members of the Saudi royal family unexpectedly spent last night at a secret location in the mid-west after their aircraft was damaged while making a scheduled refuelling stop at Shannon Airport yesterday.
The Saudi Arabian Airlines Lockheed L10-11 aircraft blocked the main runway at Shannon, closing the airfield for a time, after its nosewheel assembly was damaged during the landing at 9.24 a.m. The family and their entourage were travelling from Toronto in Canada to Amman in Jordan when it made the planned stopover. There were 33 passengers and crew on board.
Aer Rianta would not say who was on board the flight. However, sources have confirmed the aircraft was carrying six unidentified members of the royal family as well as more than a dozen Saudi secret service personnel and flight crew. The Garda press office also would not confirm who was on board or whether a security operation had been mounted around the family for the duration of their stay.
Sources at Shannon have confirmed, however, that as soon as it became clear the jet would not be in a position to continue its journey, the gardaí were contacted and armed detectives immediately despatched to the airport.
Soon after 11.00 a.m., the family were whisked away amid tight security to what has been described as a "secret and secure location in the region".
The pilot reported to air traffic control that he was unable to turn off the runway. It was discovered that part of the nosewheel had collapsed. The main runway remained closed for about 40 minutes. Weather conditions at the airport were poor, with visibility reduced to less than a mile.