A Co Kildare councillor urged the council to think back to 9/11 where private airfields were used to train terrorists, when considering the expansion of Weston aerodrome near Celbridge.
Speaking at yesterday's discussions on the county development plan, Fine Gael's Katie Ridge said she was not being sensationalist. She claimed the aerodrome's owner/occupier was in negotiations with Arabic interests to store more than 30 jets and 10 helicopters at the north Kildare facility.
The airfield is owned by developer Jim Mansfield. The council has received a submission to upgrade it from code 1 to code 3 status, which would increase the airfield's runway length, its capacity and the possibility of accepting commercial traffic.