Three people arrested after vehicle enters unauthorised area of Shannon Airport
Pat Flynn
Three people have been arrested after a van gained access to an unauthorised area at Shannon Airport on Saturday morning.
The van is understood to have gained access to the airport at the main security post adjacent to the airport’s fire station.
It’s not clear how far onto the airfield the van travelled, but it’s believed it reached a taxiway where a US C40 aircraft was parked.
A C40 is a US military variant of the popular Boeing 737 jet.
There were gardaí and armed members of the Defence Forces on duty on the taxiway at the time and along with Airport Police personnel, intercepted the van.
It’s also not clear whether any damage was caused to the aircraft however engineers could be seen around the plane.
Airport operations were suspended for around 30 minutes following the breach.
Two men and a woman, all aged in their 20s, were arrested at the scene while the van was later removed for a technical examination.
It’s understood gardaí had to use force to gain access to the vehicle and remove the occupants. Mesh wiring could be seen inside the windows of the van’s cab area.
A Garda spokesperson confirmed: “Earlier this morning, Saturday 22nd November 2025 at approximately 9:30am, a vehicle entered an unauthorised area of Shannon Airport, Shannon, Co. Clare.
The vehicle was intercepted by security agencies on duty including An Garda Síochána, Óglaigh na hÉireann and the Airport Police Service.
Two males and one female (all aged in their 20s) have been arrested and are being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 in Garda Stations in Co. Clare. Investigations are ongoing.”
A spokesperson for The Shannon Airport Group has confirmed: “Operations at Shannon Airport resumed at 10:02 am this morning following a temporary suspension of just under 30 minutes, while it addressed a security matter. The safety of passengers and staff remains our top priority.”
On May 1st, Shannon Airport was closed for a time following a security breach where a van attempted to entered the airport. Three people were detained after they left their van stuck in a ditch and they ran onto a taxiway.
A little over two weeks later, A member of An Garda Síochána was hospitalised following an incident at Shannon Airport.
Three women were arrested after they allegedly gained access to the airside area of the airport and caused criminal damage to an aircraft.
