Shannon Airport Thread [Mod Warning in First Post]

highlydebased wrote: »

1 less rotation a week aswell, flying to Lanzarote saturday afternoon instead of LHR.

Interesting STN numbers went up when they cut a couple of flights a week to there!

Airport board exploring new opportunities (Limerick Post)

A pilot training school and a museum are among the projects being considered by the Shannon Airport Authority as it steps up its commercial brief to improve the airport’s earning potential.

And the changeover to a more customer-friendly environment began last week with the airport authority offering one of the lowest long-term parking rates in the country.

Shannon chief executive Neil Pakey was briefing members of Limerick city council’s transport committee when he said that the airport is looking at a broad spectrum of initiatives including pilot training and having the airport look at adopting an educational role.

The board is also planning to establish a ‘Friends of Shannon Airport’ support organization, based on the success of a similar group in Liverpool.

“Their enthusiasm and support for the airport was enormous. They organised school groups to see how the airport worked; they helped out with large groups of wheelchair users and helped publicise the airport. They were absolutely fantastic and they are coming over to brief the Shannon airport board before we invite people to join our own group”, he said.

golfball37 wrote: »

Shannon Airport have been trying to pawn off the Hotel College to NUIG for years now.

Is the new CX saying they are keeping it?

Shannon College of Hotel Management is a Recognised College of the National University of Ireland.

Both of the degree courses offered by Shannon College are Level 8 Honours Degrees awarded by the National University of Ireland.

Shannon Group Plc is being formed as the new umbrella for a group of four commercially driven businesses who are focused on delivering economic benefits for the Shannon/Limerick area, the West of Ireland and the wider national economy.


The four businesses are

• Shannon International Airport
• Shannon Heritage
• International Aviation Services Centre (IASC)
• Shannon Development.

• To promote the use of, and need for, Liverpool Airport.
• To encourage the preservation, development and improvement of the Airport and its facilities.
• To educate public opinion and give advice and information about the Airport, the airlines and services offered.
• To promote civic pride in our local Airport.

Boston and Limerick to Twin their Universities (UL)

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to be signed on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday 17th March, to formally launch collaborative programmes between University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Limerick.

The largest number of UL’s international students come from the United States of America and there are currently 290 US students studying at UL. This number is set to rise as the University increases it’s internationalisation as part of the President’s Strategic Plan “Pioneering & Connected”.

Quintessentially Aviation Handling opens new Shannon facility (Blue Sky News)

Quintessentially Aviation Handling, the newest member to join the Air Elite Network, has celebrated the completion of their new executive passenger & crew terminal facilities at Shannon Airport (EINN).

The new, state-of-the-art, 1750 square foot terminal includes a luxurious and contemporary, full-service executive passenger lounge designed to cater to Quintessentially’s discerning business & general aviation clientele. The facility also boasts an impressive airside crew rest lounge complete with satellite TV, Netflix, WiFi, complimentary catering, featuring modern Swiss furnishings. As an additional convenience, the terminal is equipped with its own airbridge to assist with passenger care.



Shannon Airport is a popular gateway airport for European, Russian and Middle Eastern business aviation flights destined for the United States. The 24/7/365 operations, clear weather records, 10,495 foot (3,200 meter) runway, and the fact that it hosts the only pre-customs clearance facility outside of the Americas makes the airport an attractive technical stop for transatlantic flights to the USA.

Permission sought for demolition of Aviation Fuel Storage Tanks (Clare Champion)

Also this week, Shannon Airport Authority have applied for planning permission for the demolition of five 19.5m diameter x 14.65m high storage tanks. They are not currently in use and, in the past, were used as an aviation fuel storage facility.

KLM Flight (Amsterdam-Shannon-New York)

From a Dutch Aviation website by Paul van Weezepoel

On September 5, 1954, the Lockheed Super Constellation PH-LKY Triton was on a flight Amsterdam-New York with 46 passengers and a crew of 10 aboard.

The aircraft made a planned refueling stop at Shannon, Ireland on flight number 633. Take-off from there was at 02:30.

Some 35-40 seconds after take-off, the Triton crashed on the mud flats in the Shannon River, about 2500m from the end of the runway.

Nobody at Shannon Airport had an idea the crash had occurred when navigator Tieman "staggered into the terminal building covered with mud", after having crossed water and mud. It was only then that rescue operations started.

The aircraft was partly submerged, with the cabin filled with fuel fumes, which caused those passengers still in it to become unconscious, and drown in the incoming tide.

25 passengers and 3 crew members were killed.

Three weeks later the Limerick and District Branch of the National Union of Journalists condemned "false and malicious reports in foreign newspapers about the crash which cast a slur on Shannon". It's hard to understand what they can have meant by this. It seems obvious that, had airport tower personnel taken the trouble to watch the aircraft for less than a minute after take-off, they could not have missed seeing the crash, probably saving many lives. They must have been a carefree lot: Nor was any notice taken of absence of any radio messages from the Triton.

An investigative board later gave as PROBABLE CAUSE:

1) Failure of the captain to correlate and interpret his instrument indications properly during flap retraction, resulting in necessary action not being taken in sufficient time. This failure was partially accounted for by the effect on instrument indications of inadvertent and unexpected gear re-extension.

2) Loss of aircraft performance due to inadvertent landing gear re-extension.

3) The captain failed to maintain sufficient climb to give him an opportunity of meeting unexpected occurrences."

Viruly, who was only a year from being pensioned, was devastated by the accident and very bitter about his subsequent treatment by KLM.

But one can only conclude from what is known now, that this captain, one of KLM's most experienced flyers, had been sadly remiss in the handling of the aircraft under his command.

Aided and abetted by the lackadaisical tower personnel, this resulted in the loss of, not only a brand-new aircraft with less than 2500 hours of operation, but also that of 28 human lives.

Calls for Shannon Group legislation (Irish Examiner)

Renewed calls have been made to Transport Minister Leo Varadkar to move on with promised legislation setting up the new Shannon Group to take control of running the airport and creating an aviation hub there.

The new body will also absorb the functions of Shannon Development, which is being disbanded.

Neil Pakey, Shannon Airport CEO, said all the necessary work to make way for the transition had been carried out over the latter part of last year so they would be fit for purpose once the legislation was passed. This was meant to happen at the beginning of the year.

“We are ready. The project director tells me we are 95% transitioned in terms of our readiness. So it is a case of trying to patiently wait for it to come through. We have asked. I think it’s in everybody’s interest that it comes through. I guess it’s the backlog of different types of changes at that level. We are quite optimistic that it is almost ready to be put through.”

Shannon legislation to be approved this month (Irish Business Today)

Clare Senator Tony Mulcahy has received confirmation that the legislation setting up the new Shannon Group to take control of the running Shannon Airport and its surrounding landbank will be published later this month and enacted in June.

The move comes 9 months after the Government approved the drafting of the Shannon Aviation Services and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2013, paving the way for the creation of the new Shannon Group entity.

Senator Mulcahy said the legislation will be discussed at Cabinet level during the next week before it is approved. He explained that the legislation, which is expected to be enacted in June, will result in the existing shareholdings held by the Government in both Shannon Development and Shannon Airport Authority being transferred to Shannon Group plc.

Senator Mulcahy added: "By merging an independent Shannon Airport, which has already performed excellently in delivering new services, with the extensive property holdings, experience and expertise of Shannon Development this legislation will allow for the creation of a strong State Company that will work with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland on developing an International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) in the wider Mid West Region."

"The formal establishment of the new entity will allow management to advance the IASC project, which will focus on further developing the existing cluster of aviation related businesses, employing 1,600 people, at Shannon into a globally significant aerospace cluster.

Carnacalla wrote: »

Who are the charter airlines?

Clareman wrote: »

Munster Sports Travel, used to be Gleeson's Travel I think, are who I've used in the past for getting to Munster matches,

http://www.munstersportstravel.com/heineken.htm

Could the Munster team not have sourced the travel packages with Munster-based travel agents and support the livelihoods of the people that feeds them?

relaxed wrote: »

I don't think theres any deceit involved.

Munster sports travel were probably taken over by Killester over the years.

• Munster Sports Travel
• Leinster Sports Travel
• Connacht Sports Travel
• Ulster Sports Travel
• Kerry Sports Travel

relaxed wrote: »

A lot of water went under the bridge with Munster rugby trips along the way, including one fan being convicted of fraudulently commandeering planes off airlines, bringing people to games and having no money to pay the bill.:eek:

That’s very true, Pamela had a big aviation heart but was hopeless doing sums.