It seems the Shannon stopover never gets a break, even when it is the third party providing an uncompulsory fuelling stop for a TWA flight from Tel Aviv to New York.

The US airline is facing a class action from 100,000 passengers who travelled between the two cities between January 1995, and June 1997, and were subjected to an allegedly unscheduled stop among the fields of Co Clare.

The plaintiffs claim that TWA advertised its service from Tel Aviv to New York as a direct flight, but that on many occasions a Boeing 747 type 100, which needed the leg-up in Shannon, was used instead of the newer 200 type.

And did Shannon Duty Free benefit from the unexpected manna from the sky? Not a bit of it. It appears the passengers were awakened from their slumbers and made to sit up inside the plane during the three-hour wait.