As 120 troops prepare to begin security duty at the airport today, it has emerged that the largest carrier of US troops in Shannon, World Airlines, told Aer Rianta eight days ago that it would be rerouting its next 17 troop-carrying flights through Frankfurt.
All 17 of these flights are understood to have taken place but World Airlines has given no indication whether they will resume using Shannon.
A Department of Defence spokesman said last night the soldiers would not only guard US planes but would also provide security for radar installations and fuel depots not necessarily used by the Americans.
The Irish troops will be armed but the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, said that, while they were entitled to protect themselves if their lives were at stake, this did not extend to firing on people attacking property.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern repeated in the Dáil last night that the UN arms inspectors in Iraq should be given more time, and Government spokesmen continued to say they wanted to see a second UN resolution before any military action.
Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs assured US envoy Mr Richard Haass at a meeting in Dublin yesterday that the Government was taking steps to ensure there was no repeat of the two attacks on a plane at Shannon in the past week.
Mr Haass later played down the impact the attacks might have on the future use of the airport, saying the security breaches had been "a technical problem that is on its way to being fixed".
Mr Haass praised the Government for making Shannon available to US troops "despite domestic controversy in some quarters". The Government had "stood up for the rule of law and for Iraq's disarmament when not everyone in this society or in this continent was standing up and saying the same sort of things".
Mr Haass said Shannon was "extremely useful" to the US because of its capacity and its location. "Are there alternatives or substitutes? Yes. Would they be as good? No. Shannon is one of the most capable facilities in this part of the world."
Green Party chairman Mr John Gormley last night condemned "lies and distortion" about the security breaches at Shannon.
Initial reports that a Garda had been hospitalised after the most recent attack had turned out to be untrue, he said. In addition, he believed the reports that €500,000 worth of damage had been done to a plane in the first incident had been "greatly exaggerated".
He called on protesters "to adhere strictly to a passive resistance code. We cannot afford to lose the battle for the hearts and minds of ordinary people."