Man held over alleged damage to US military plane at Shannon Airport

Man held for allegedly damaging US military aircraft at Shannon Airport

Mohan Sinha
12 Apr 2026, 12:55 GMT+10

A man in his 40s was arrested for allegedly causing criminal damage to a US military aircraft at Shannon Airport.
Videos shared on social media appeared to show him climbing onto a large military transport plane and hitting one of its wings with an object.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said flights were briefly halted due to the incident, which required police assistance.

DUBLIN, Ireland: A man in his 40s who allegedly caused criminal damage to a US military aircraft at Shannon Airport was arrested on Saturday.

Police said a man entered a restricted area at Shannon Airport in Co Clare that morning.

Videos shared on social media appeared to show him climbing onto a large military transport plane and hitting one of its wings with an object.

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said flights were briefly halted due to the incident, which required police assistance. Operations were paused at about 9:50 am and restarted at 10:15 am.

In a statement, police said a man in his 40s was arrested shortly before 11:00 am on suspicion of causing criminal damage. He is being held at a Garda station in the Clare-Tipperary area under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

He can be held in custody for up to 24 hours, excluding break times.

Last November, three people were arrested at Shannon Airport after the van they were in broke through airport security and entered a restricted area. Police and armed Defense Forces quickly stopped the vehicle. The three people are now facing court over this incident.

On May 1 last year, the airport was closed for a while after another security breach. A van tried to enter by crashing through a fence. It got stuck in a ditch, and three people jumped out onto a taxiway before being arrested.

Just over two weeks later, another incident happened at the airport. A police officer was taken to the hospital, and three women were arrested after they allegedly got into a restricted airside area and damaged an aircraft.