US troop numbers going through Shannon airport have dropped by almost two-thirds in the past month, figures released by the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) confirmed yesterday.
As a result of World Airways transferring its operation to Leipzig, Germany, at the end of June, the number of US troops stopping over in Shannon dropped 62 per cent from 31,333 on 189 flights in June to 11,670 on 72 flights in July.
Up until the end of June, record levels of troops were going through Shannon, with 209,074 using airport facilities between January and June, representing a 36 per cent rise on the corresponding period last year.
However, World Airways was the largest carrier of troops.
"The troop traffic has been good business and there was always an expectation that it was open to change," Fianna Fáil senator Timmy Dooley said yesterday.
He said the recent decision by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury to clear five anti-war activists of the $2.5 million (€1.99 million) damage to a US navy aircraft in February 2003 "has made the job of airport management to win the business back much more difficult."
Senator Dooley said: "Arising from the verdict, the courts have effectively given free rein to people to get away with that type of activity and that will play on the minds of those people who operate those airlines that transport troops through Shannon." The troop business for the first six months is estimated to have generated €26 million in revenues for the SAA and delivered €4.5 million in profits.
In recent days, the Army and an additional 40 gardaí have been drafted in to protect Shannon from threats by anti-war activists to close down Shannon.
"The presence of the Army and the gardaí is necessary. The anti-war activists haven't withdrawn their threat to close Shannon and until they withdraw that threat, it would be unwise for the gardaí to leave the airport unprotected.
"I think that it is very regrettable that this situation is continuing and we are taking badly needed Garda resources from rural communities," Senator Dooley said.
One of the five anti-war activists acquitted, Ciaron O'Reilly, has reaffirmed his threat to attempt to shut down the airport through non-violent means if the Government "does not demilitarise the airport by a certain deadline."
Mr O'Reilly said: "First we will politely request that the Government demilitarises the airport and if they don't do that, we will seek to close it down through non-violent action.
"The Army and gardaí are quicker off the mark than we are. We are just at the stage of researching tactics and talking to groups around Ireland and internationally."
