(Article)US troops set off Fire alarms in Shannon by smoking

Villain

From http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1173564&issue_id=10806
"Fury as airport ban goes up in smoke

A US warplane at Shannon . . . airport evacuated as American troops flout smoking ban.

Aer Rianta accused of double standards after lucrative US military flout law

SHANNON airport had to be evacuated because US troops set off alarms by flouting the smoking ban.

Angry workers have claimed that Aer Rianta is being soft on the offenders because it is afraid of losing lucrative US military contracts.

In recent weeks, the airport's automated fire alarm system has been activated several times resulting in fire crews and security personnel rushing to investigate the source of the emergency.

On at least six occasions US soldiers have been found packed into airport toilets claiming to be unaware of the smoking ban.

After one recent fire alarm activation, the airport was evacuated when fire crews failed to locate the source of the emergency within the 10 minutes allowed before an automatic evacuation procedure is initiated.

All the activations have occurred in the same area of the terminal building where troops are segregated from the travelling public.

Airport workers angry at the blatant flouting of the smoking regulations have only spoken out because the ban has been hugely successful with the public and workers. "

"There has been no smoking in any of the work areas and I am not aware of anyone having broken the ban in the restaurant or bars," one airport employee said.

"The troops should not be treated any differently to the rest of us," he added.

Aer Rianta has declined to confirm or deny that the smoking ban is constantly being breached at Shannon and has refused to answer a list of questions put to the company regarding reported infringements.

A company spokesperson would only say: "Aer Rianta complies fully with the smoking legislation and will continue ensure that the smoking ban applies to all passengers, members of the public and staff members."

But airport sources say a big factor is the fear that lucrative US military business could be in jeopardy as a result of the smoking ban.

Frankfurt airport has already been mentioned as one possible alternative to Shannon as thousands of US troops already use the airport, which does not have the same smoking restrictions.

When asked whether any airline carrying US troops through Shannon has made representations to airport management about the smoking issue, Aer Rianta said: "No."

The number of US troops going through Shannon airport has increased dramatically since the start of the year. Last year, 126,000 American soldiers passed through Shannon, earning Aer Rianta €15.5m from US military"


Thought this was kinda funny, wonder will they get fines???

Memnoch

US soldiers aren't aware of the geneva convention regarding treatment of prisoners and the US army frequently flouts international and humanitarian law because they know they will get away with it..

do we seriously expect them to follow a law that they would consider as trivial as the smoking ban?

after all, aren't these heros defending our freedom?

David-[RLD]-

Defending our freedom? :rolleyes:

What's "our" freedom? Who does the "our" refer to? The human race? I think not.

Originally posted by Memnoch
US soldiers aren't aware of the geneva convention regarding treatment of prisoners

I'm sure you meant to say "some" there rather than imply all:rolleyes:

Or perhaps you were going off topic which of course you never do;)
As this thread is about a flagrant breach of the smoking ban by regular users of Shannon airport, it should be easy enough to comment without going off topic.

Congratulations Irish1 you have found a perfect example where business may be lost due to the smoking ban.
Mind you Sinn Féin would argue that these troops (and ergo the business that they bring) shouldn't be going through the airport in the first place.
So maybe you have found a reason to support the smoking ban in it's current form with no further compromise

Memnoch

Originally posted by David-[RLD]-
Defending our freedom? :rolleyes:

What's "our" freedom? Who does the "our" refer to? The human race? I think not.

i was being sarcastic
in case you missed that

Memnoch

Originally posted by Earthman
I'm sure you meant to say "some" there rather than imply all:rolleyes:

i meant what I said, you can twist my statement to whatever meaning you choose to try and fit your arguements thats fine.

Or perhaps you were going off topic which of course you never do;)

no i'm talking about the US army's general disregard for the law, which is on topic considering we are discussing their disregard for the smoking law here.

As this thread is about a flagrant breach of the smoking ban by regular users of Shannon airport, it should be easy enough to comment without going off topic.

yes and i'm waiting for you to demonstrate how I was off topic. The US army's general disregard for the law in general is indicative of their behaviour which goes some way towards explaining why they disregard the smoking law in shannon airport... in fact their words seem to be largly repetitive...

US soldiers all huddled into a bathroom caught smoking in Shannon - "We didn't know there was no smoking in this airport!" But they will still be hiding huddled in the bathroom? If they didn't know it was banned why hide in the bathroom? why not just smoke anywhere.

US soldiers caught committing war crimes - "We didn't know about the Geneva convention. NOt only that, but we didn't know that its wrong to treat another human being like this."

notice any similarities there?

Congratulations Irish1 you have found a perfect example where business may be lost due to the smoking ban.

and You try to accuse me of going off topic lol. I thought you said this was about the flagrant disregard of the US for the smoking ban, not about the validity of the ban itself?

halkar

Fine the airport 3000 yoyos everyday to make up a million yoyos a year, they still have their 14 million
Even better, shut down the airport, law is a law doesn't matter if they are Irish or Americans or Marsian

Villain

Originally posted by Earthman
Congratulations Irish1 you have found a perfect example where business may be lost due to the smoking ban.
Mind you Sinn Féin would argue that these troops (and ergo the business that they bring) shouldn't be going through the airport in the first place.
So maybe you have found a reason to support the smoking ban in it's current form with no further compromise

LOL good man, I'm more interested in knowing if the soldiers who set off the alarm by smoking will be fined.

I'm sure there is CCTV cameras that would have picked the culprits up.