Shannon Airport Thread [Mod Warning in First Post]

Brennans Row

hobie14 wrote: »

Condor ... D- ABOH 757 ... now on short finals ...... FRA - YHZ ..?

Frankfurt – Halifax is unusual route for a holiday airline such as Condor.

Phileas Frog

One of the VC-25s just landed in Shannon, not Air Force One as yer man is in Portsmouth

Sterling Archer

Phileas Frog wrote: »

One of the VC-25s just landed in Shannon, not Air Force One as yer man is in Portsmouth

Looks like One of the C-32A s landed

Phileas Frog

Shane_ef wrote: »

Looks like One of the C-32A s landed

That was here this morning too, took off around 9:40

FluffyUnicorn

Which ATC frequencies should you listen to to try and catch AF1? Approach/Control, Shanwick, etc...Or would that be possible?

Sterling Archer

FluffyUnicorn wrote: »

Which ATC frequencies should you listen to to try and catch AF1? Approach/Control, Shanwick, etc...Or would that be possible?

You'll hear it on control/approach/tower

Phileas Frog

Shane_ef wrote: »

You'll hear it on control/approach/tower

There's no such channel on LiveATC. I'm on "Twr/App #1" - hopefully that's it!

Sterling Archer

Phileas Frog wrote: »

There's no such channel on LiveATC. I'm on "Twr/App #1" - hopefully that's it!

15 ish mins... Sam 96 now landing

hobie14

Brennans Row wrote: »

Frankfurt – Halifax is unusual route for a holiday airline such as Condor.

Maybe trying to get away from Brexit .......

hobie14

757 on approach ....

Brennans Row

US President Donald Trump’s visit showcased Shannon and wider West of Ireland region (Shannon Group)



President Donald J. Trump, joined by First Lady Melania Trump and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, signs the guestbook Wednesday, June 5, 2019, at Shannon Airport

(Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Good PR to get this President into Shannon's hall of fame, good for golf tourism, good for maintaining the airports relationship to the U.S.

RocketRaccoon

A great few days in the airport, credit to all the staff involved in the presidential visit and shame on the airport for solely highlighting the usual suspects on their Facebook page who never do any real work but can't ever pass up a photo op.

windy shepard henderson

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

A great few days in the airport, credit to all the staff involved in the presidential visit and shame on the airport for solely highlighting the usual suspects on their Facebook page who never do any real work but can't ever pass up a photo op.

yeah quit annoyed to see pat breen get his photo shot and disappear in to the abyss shortly after , if anyone should have been there it should have been carey at least he fights for the airport

RocketRaccoon

windy shepard henderson wrote: »

yeah quit annoyed to see pat breen get his photo shot and disappear in to the abyss shortly after , if anyone should have been there it should have been carey at least he fights for the airport

Didn't notice him or any politicians in photos. More aimed at the post with airport staff who are only ever seen for a photo op.

mdmix

Norwegian confirm no flight from Shannon for the rest of 2019.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/business/norwegian-confirms-airline-will-not-resume-flights-from-cork-or-shannon-this-year-930115.html

Brennans Row

mdmix wrote: »

Norwegian confirm no flight from Shannon for the rest of 2019.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/business/norwegian-confirms-airline-will-not-resume-flights-from-cork-or-shannon-this-year-930115.html

Wednesday 12 June 2019: A spokesperson for Shannon Group said: “Shannon Airport is disappointed for its passengers with the news that as a result of the continued grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, Norwegian will be unable to operate a Shannon service for the reminder of the year.

“The world-wide grounding of the 737 Max aircraft is having a serious impact for Shannon passengers. Proportionally, no other Irish airport has such a high level of activity operated by the 737 Max aircraft. At peak this aircraft type would have operated 13 weekly flights from Shannon to North America. We now estimate that the loss of these flights, which include this year’s Air Canada service, will mean a loss of over 120,000 seats at Shannon in 2019 and as a result our overall passenger numbers will be down. (Shannon Group)

Brennans Row

Flight diverts to Shannon with ill crew member (Clare Herald)

American Airlines flight AA-79 was operating between Heathrow Airport in London and Dallas, Texas in the US when the crew declared a medical emergency at around 3.45pm.

The crew of the Boeing 777-200 jet informed controllers that a female cabin crew member was complaining of chest pain and that they had been advised to divert and seek medical assistance.

This C-17 Crew Broke Diplomatic Protocol to Save a Life. Now They’re Up for Awards (Military)

Air Force Capt. Forrest "Cal" Lampela was about to put the aircraft landing gear down in Shannon, Ireland, eight hours into a flight. If all had gone according to plan, he and his C-17 Globemaster III crew should have been more than halfway over the Atlantic.

He couldn't see the runway because of dense fog, catching a glimpse of it from only 100 feet above the ground -- the absolute minimum altitude to which the large transport aircraft can descend before its pilot must either call for a landing or to abort approach.

Somewhere below, an ambulance stood by, waiting to pick up a sailor who had been wounded in combat and was in critical condition.

"I was a little bit afraid of where the ambulance was going to be because I didn't want him to try to run up on the jet while we still had engines running, because the fog was that bad," Lampela said.

He recalls it as "the most challenging landing that I've ever done." But on top of dangerous, foggy conditions, Lampela and the crew, call sign Reach 445, had just entered a country where they had not received diplomatic clearance before touching down.

"I wouldn't do that unless it was an emergency," Lampela said in a recent interview with Military.com, recounting the April aeromedical mission to transport the sailor. He and his team belong to the 14th Airlift Squadron out of Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina.

"If I'm going to fly into a country without diplomatic clearance, it's going to be [over a potential] loss of life or [loss of] your craft or safety of flight," he said. "We were ... essentially a flying ambulance."

The flight included Lampela, the aircraft commander and C-17 instructor pilot; Capt. Chris Puckett, a C-17 instructor pilot; Capt. Ken Dickenscheidt, a C-17 pilot; Senior Airman Chris Kyle Bowers, a C-17 instructor loadmaster; Airman 1st Class Timothy Henn, a C-17 loadmaster; and Tech. Sgt. Nick Scarmeas, flying crew chief of the 437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

The decision they made to turn back from the U.S. and head to Ireland to save the sailor's life got the Air Force's attention: The six airmen are now under consideration for the Air Medal for making the right call under difficult circumstances. The sailor remains unidentified for privacy reasons.

"For their act of heroism and success in operating beyond what is expected and routine, Capt. Lampela and his crew were submitted to be awarded single-event Air Medals," Lt. Col. Kari Fleming, 14th Airlift Squadron commander, told Military.com on Monday. "It is my honor to recognize this deserving crew with such a rare decoration."

The medal is awarded to U.S. and civilian personnel "for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievements while participating in aerial flight … in actual combat in support of operations," according to the service. It can also be awarded to foreign military personnel.

"Our airmen dedicate their lives to serve this great nation to deliver lifesaving capabilities, so our wounded may return to their loved ones," Gen. Maryanne Miller, head of Air Mobility Command (AMC), said in a separate statement. "The crews of Reach 445 highlight that our incredible airmen are our greatest advantage.

"Sound decision-making and superior care once again bring a hero home to his family," she added.

Diverting the Flight

The crew had begun their transit at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, reaching Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. But they had to delay the second leg of their journey because of bad storms on the U.S. East Coast. Their home base, Joint Base Charleston, had lost power; some squadrons there had been sent home early.

"We [were] just bringing some stuff from Al Udeid back home to Charleston, [and] we were in Germany for the crew to rest up," Lampela said.

But "it looked like pretty terrible storms all the way across the East Coast," he added.

Their delay meant they were the only C-17 in theater with the tools and space required to transport the patient to Walter Reed Medical Center outside Washington, D.C. They headed to Ramstein Air Base, approximately 70 miles away, to pick up medical teams from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

"We were told that he was in such a state that Germany couldn't care for him anymore, and Walter Reed [is] the best trauma center," Lampela said.

With the six members of the crew, the patient and the Critical Care Air Transport Team, known as a CCATT, there were 17 people bound for Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, said Bowers, the instructor loadmaster. The CCATT is known throughout the Air Force as a "flying intensive care unit."

Col. Allison Cogar of the 313th Expeditionary Operation Support Squadron, currently deployed to Ramstein, gave general background information on CCATTs. More specific information on the Reach 445 flight was unavailable for confidentiality reasons.

CCATTs typically transport a ventilator and monitors, along with other gear, she said.
"We have IV pumps, we have suction equipment -- that's kind of the standard equipment," Cogar said. "We can augment that with other things that are specific to the patient."
Teams can perform surgical tasks, she said, but "it's pretty uncommon."

"If I'm having a patient who's having issues, I try and alert the crew early on so they can communicate with [air operations and command centers]," Cogar said of reasons why a flight would be diverted. "It's much safer and better for the patient to do on the ground, where you have a lot more resources available to you. So we try and kind of pre-emptively fend off any of those things that we think we may need to do."

Making the Call

The sailor took a turn for the worse and needed immediate surgery. The medical professionals knew they'd have to divert or face a grim outcome.

"We were approximately halfway over the ocean when the patient started to destabilize," Lampela said. The crew contacted the air operations center at Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, to strategize.

"They couldn't get his blood levels under control," Lampela said. "They brought enough blood for the flight, but he was bleeding out in one and, they thought possibly, two wounds. So they didn't have enough blood to keep him stabilized. Secondly, we needed dialysis because his kidneys had failed, so they needed a hospital."

The crew looked at the available options.

"I was probably four hours from the tip of Canada, which even making it to Canada, there was nothing until I hit probably stateside, and I was probably six hours from Boston. I was approximately two hours from Ireland, probably three to England, and [roughly] five hours to Iceland," Lampela said.

University Hospital Limerick, about 30 minutes from Shannon airport, had the necessary equipment. They made the decision to turn around and head to Ireland.

In the back of the C-17, Bowers, the loadmaster, was trying to ease the stress, communicating back and forth with the cockpit and the cargo hold. He had already reconfigured the cargo hold to fit the sailor and the CCATT before they boarded.

Around 2 a.m., 60 miles from their approach to Ireland, Lampela got a call from air traffic control that fog had unexpectedly rolled in.

Wheels Down in Ireland

Lampela had asked the pilots, Puckett and Dickenscheidt, to take turns in the co-pilot seat assisting, since they were about to do a Cat II minimum approach -- meaning the pilot must make a decision whether to land at only 200 to 100 feet altitude.

"Keep in mind: During this time, I also have a patient who's bleeding, and I don't know how much time and I don't know where else I can go," Lampela said.

He added, "The landing itself was not eventful. But I will tell you, with a patient you have in the back, and going through 200 feet above the ground, and you still don't see anything … you start to get really [anxious and hope] that you see the runway real quick."

The sailor was taken off the C-17 five minutes after the aircraft landed. Soon after, Lampela was answering calls from both the Irish and U.S. embassies.

"They wanted to know several things, such as were we there to spy, or if we had anything that was not allowed in the country, such as guns or something like that," he said.
Lampela called his chain of command in Charleston to say they would be delayed.

"I said, 'All right, uh, don't get mad. I declared an emergency. I'm in Ireland without diplomatic clearance or, if you hear something about me, it was warranted,'" he recalled.

After receiving clearance, the crew stayed in Ireland for 24 hours, waiting for the sailor to undergo surgery before flying him to Joint Base Andrews. He was transported in stable condition.

Being Versatile

"Essentially, you wake up in the morning, and there's been many times where we've been picked off for different missions," Lampela said. "So you're actually going here, you're going to this country, or a humanitarian issue pops up. So you're never really sure of … what you think you're going to do. But until you actually go do it, nothing's really guaranteed."

Air Mobility Command has logged 245 aeromedical evacuations in the first quarter of this year, moving 1,183 patients. Last year, airmen moved 5,409 patients in 866 aeromedical events, according to statistics provided to Military.com.

While some Reach 445 members had been on aeromedical tasking before, the critical level made it rare.

"Every situation is different," Bowers said. "We're constantly learning on a daily basis. There's never going to be a similar incident. But as far as, are we going to do better, get better and are we going to be more prepared? Absolutely."

"In AMC and in the flying world, we preach this attitude of readiness," Lampela said. "I'm humbled to have been a part of this opportunity.

"We woke up; we weren't expecting this. But because of our training, we were prepared to go out and do this. We were ready to go. And I'm glad it [turned out] OK," he said.

Even medical diversions can be dangerous when conditions are not right.

Brennans Row

University of Limerick on course to develop sustainable aviation fuel (Irish Times)

An initiative to develop biofuel in Ireland suitable for use in aviation has been announced by the University of Limerick and a Dutch company which is a global leader in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The Bernal Institute at the university has signed a memorandum of understanding with SkyNRG to explore development of sustainable aviation fuel manufacturing in Ireland.

The Bernal Institute works already on many aspects relevant for emission reduction in aviation such as lightweight composite structures. This collaboration will be a good complement to research at iComp.

Ei Electronics supporting Shannon Aviation Museum (Clare Herald)

Shannon’s largest employer, Ei Electronics, has announced plans to provide significant support for the extension and renovation of the Shannon Aviation Museum, which has been in existence since 2007.

The Centre provides accredited education and training aviation courses for adults in partnership with Limerick Institute of Technology and Shannon Aviation Cluster Companies, but also provides accessibility to schools and the general public offering a range of learning activities and experiences for people of all ages with a passion for aviation.

JCX BXC

https://clarechampion.ie/e14-million-for-four-irish-airports-but-nothing-for-struggling-shannon/

The sheer brazen incompetence and even ignorance. It hurts to read.

Could be very easy to say 'fine, here's €5 mil for Shannon, however you no longer have the funding of the cash-cow that is Shannon development'.

Wouldn't that be great?

Things are being made out that they are worse than what they actually are. The 737MAX groundings are having a large impact, a small decline would have occured anyway, however that's not the eradication of the airport. Competent management, who are not just there for photo shoots, need to be implemented. And I don't mean someone who will jump into a quick affair with Ryanair either.

Balf

https://www.clareecho.ie/clare-representation-on-shannon-airport-board-a-bloody-disgrace/

A review in the make up of Shannon Group’s PLC has been sought by elected representatives in Co Clare.

Fianna Fáil councillor, Pat Daly at last Monday’s adjourned June meeting of Clare County Council criticised Shannon Group for rejecting an application from Pat Dowling, Chief Executive of the local authority to sit on the board as a Council representative. .......

Cllr Gerry Flynn who was previously backed by fellow councillors to seek a position on the Board as their representative stood aside in favour of Dowling’s bid.

What is it that they think the Council will bring to improve the airport's performance?

What do they feel is lacking in the current board?
https://www.shannongroup.ie/about-us/board/

Are other airport boards remarkably different?
https://www.daa.ie/our-company/our-team/

golfball37

Balf wrote: »

What is it that they think the Council will bring to improve the airport's performance?

What do they feel is lacking in the current board?
https://www.shannongroup.ie/about-us/board/

Are other airport boards remarkably different?
https://www.daa.ie/our-company/our-team/

Posturing- Id say Clare County Council wouldn't exist if it weren't for the exorbitant rates paid over to them by Shannon Group. Where does that money go I wonder?

highlydebased

Aer Lingus to operate EI380/1 with A321LR from 29/3/20

Most certainly means the A320 will be operating somewhere else in the morning and back

Deagol

highlydebased wrote: »

Aer Lingus to operate EI380/1 with A321LR from 29/3/20

Most certainly means the A320 will be operating somewhere else in the morning and back

Hi, Have you a source for this? Can't see why they would use a LR for a LHR flight unless pax numbers require larger? I know the JFK route is getting an LR - crossed wires maybe?

I'm hoping of course that you are right though! Maybe they can't do Aerspace on 320 and cope with pax numbers is a thought i had.

highlydebased

Deagol wrote: »

Hi, Have you a source for this? Can't see why they would use a LR for a LHR flight unless pax numbers require larger? I know the JFK route is getting an LR - crossed wires maybe?

I'm hoping of course that you are right though! Maybe they can't do Aerspace on 320 and cope with pax numbers is a thought i had.

It's loaded in the booking engine.

Cookiemunster

Deagol wrote: »

Hi, Have you a source for this? Can't see why they would use a LR for a LHR flight unless pax numbers require larger? I know the JFK route is getting an LR - crossed wires maybe?

I'm hoping of course that you are right though! Maybe they can't do Aerspace on 320 and cope with pax numbers is a thought i had.

EI like to sweat their assets. They already use A330s to do early morning Faro and Malaga rotations rather than have them sit on the tarmac between trans Atlantic flights. This would be the same. Land from the US, do the early Heathrow rotation and then head back to the US around noon. Use the A320 for a different route.

Diego Tristan

Cookiemunster wrote: »

EI like to sweat their assets. They already use A330s to do early morning Faro and Malaga rotations rather than have them sit on the tarmac between trans Atlantic flights. This would be the same. Land from the US, do the early Heathrow rotation and then head back to the US around noon. Use the A320 for a different route.

Also means they could properly market a ticket as business class all the way from JFK-LHR, rather than current situation of J cabin from JFK to SNN and Y from SNN to LHR.

marno21

Diego Tristan wrote: »

Also means they could properly market a ticket as business class all the way from JFK-LHR, rather than current situation of J cabin from JFK to SNN and Y from SNN to LHR.

And more importantly for Shannon, business class on SNN-LHR-xxx making full use of British Airways business class eastwards

lockman

highlydebased wrote: »

Aer Lingus to operate EI380/1 with A321LR from 29/3/20

Most certainly means the A320 will be operating somewhere else in the morning and back

Good move: it makes a lot of sense.

Deagol

Cookiemunster wrote: »

EI like to sweat their assets. They already use A330s to do early morning Faro and Malaga rotations rather than have them sit on the tarmac between trans Atlantic flights. This would be the same. Land from the US, do the early Heathrow rotation and then head back to the US around noon. Use the A320 for a different route.

Thanks for that, makes sense. Will probably end up on it a few times a year

JCX BXC

However, this does not mean new routes for Shannon, imo they'll simply swap the Malaga/Faro rotations onto the A320-200 that will be freed, and allow the cork aircraft to remain in cork.

I'd love to be surprised though, something like an Amsterdam or Paris flight would work schedule wise, it's just actually having a sufficient market to run the flight