From the Irish Independent today
Travolta forced to land at Shannon
IT WAS a case of when the "Boeing gets tough, the toff gets going" for multi-millionaire movie star John Travolta early yesterday.
A jet owned and flown by one of Hollywood's hottest properties was grounded at Shannon Airport after developing technical problems while returning to the US.
But the movie star of such films as 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Saturday Night Fever' does not get ruffled too easily. The delay barely broke his stride, and within a few hours both he and his entourage were aboard another privately-owned jet to continue their journey.
He had been returning to Newark in New Jersey from Munich International Airport after he appeared on a German television programme at the weekend.
His Boeing 707-138, registered N707JT which he flies himself, arrived at Shannon late on Monday night on a scheduled refuelling stop, but it could not take off again because of engine trouble.
Engineers were called in to assess the problem but decided that the jet would have to remain at Shannon until the difficulty could be rectified.
The plane is expected to stay until late this evening at the earliest.
The star is no stranger to Ireland, but this time instead of taking the chance to stop over, he hopped on another private jet, and was airborne again by the early hours of yesterday morning.
The 53-year-old flight fanatic is no stranger either to drama when it comes to flying.
In September 1999 the star's jet was involved in a mid-air scare forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Travolta, who even named his son Jett, earned his wings in 1974 and owns a Gulfstream II jet and three other aircraft.
He bought an airport near Ocala Florida and built a home right next to the 7,500-foot runway. His Boeing 707 is equipped with bedrooms, a recreation room and three dining areas.
He infuriated environmentalists recently by flying his jet to the London premiere of his new film 'Wild Hogs'. The star encouraged his fans to "do their bit" to tackle global warming and although he readily admitted "I fly jets", he failed to mention that he clocked up at least 48,000km flying over the past 12 months. This means he has produced an estimated 800 tonnes of carbon emissions in that time alone.
"I'm probably not the best candidate to ask about global warming because I fly jets. I use them as a business tool, as others do. I think it's part of this industry otherwise I couldn't be here doing this and I wouldn't be here now."