neidin
27th Oct 2004, 14:18
From Limerick Post
Shannon denial
SHANNON Airport has not been used for the purpose of transporting prisoners to and from Guantanamo Bay, according to a directive sent to the Irish Embassy in Washington by the US Government.
Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern stresses that the US authorities have confirmed to the Irish Embassy in Washington that they have not been using Shannon or Irish airports for his purpose and that they would not seek to use Irish airports for this purpose in the future without seeking the authorisation of the Irish authorities.”
and from Irish Echo New York
The Irish Independent reported that last year's figure of 125,000 troops transiting through Shannon would be exceeded before the end of this month. Figures released by Shannon Airport show that 112,803 U.S. troops passed through Shannon on 1,114 flights in the nine months up to the end of September. This was a 17 percent increase on the 96,403 troops who passed through Shannon in the same nine month period in 2003.
According to a breakdown in the figures, September was the peak month so far this year with 22,525 troops landing at the County Clare airport on 150 flights.
The total for August was 14,830, while for July it was 11,932.
In all, roughly 350,000 members of the U.S. armed forces have stopped off in Shannon on either eastbound or westbound flights in the last three years.
Transport minister Martin Cullen said Monday that the troop numbers broke down at this point to 1,000 a day. He added that there would be no change in the policy of allowing U.S. aircraft to land for fuel and for troops to disembark for a time. The landings were good for local business, he said.
The Irish government is putting a positive economic spin on the troop movement because Shannon has seen a drop in civilian passenger traffic this year.
Shannon denial
SHANNON Airport has not been used for the purpose of transporting prisoners to and from Guantanamo Bay, according to a directive sent to the Irish Embassy in Washington by the US Government.
Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern stresses that the US authorities have confirmed to the Irish Embassy in Washington that they have not been using Shannon or Irish airports for his purpose and that they would not seek to use Irish airports for this purpose in the future without seeking the authorisation of the Irish authorities.”
and from Irish Echo New York
The Irish Independent reported that last year's figure of 125,000 troops transiting through Shannon would be exceeded before the end of this month. Figures released by Shannon Airport show that 112,803 U.S. troops passed through Shannon on 1,114 flights in the nine months up to the end of September. This was a 17 percent increase on the 96,403 troops who passed through Shannon in the same nine month period in 2003.
According to a breakdown in the figures, September was the peak month so far this year with 22,525 troops landing at the County Clare airport on 150 flights.
The total for August was 14,830, while for July it was 11,932.
In all, roughly 350,000 members of the U.S. armed forces have stopped off in Shannon on either eastbound or westbound flights in the last three years.
Transport minister Martin Cullen said Monday that the troop numbers broke down at this point to 1,000 a day. He added that there would be no change in the policy of allowing U.S. aircraft to land for fuel and for troops to disembark for a time. The landings were good for local business, he said.
The Irish government is putting a positive economic spin on the troop movement because Shannon has seen a drop in civilian passenger traffic this year.