Sir, – It would appear from your report (Home News, December 17th) that Shannon airport is set to become one of the virtual US Air Force Bases that Donald Rumsfeld envisioned as dotting the globe to service an increasingly privatised US military.
In the report, the end of the Iraq war is described as “not a big hit” [to the airport] by a “source” at Shannon airport. The US military will continue to use the airport en route to Afghanistan, Kuwait and other locations. Normal airport charges will be paid and transiting military personnel will spend in the newly revamped-to-the-tune-of-€1 million duty free shop.
The US military presence might help the ailing Shannon airport (“estimated to be losing €8 million annually”) but nationally it is disastrously expensive as Ireland foolishly foots the bill for vital navigation support for foreign military flights through Irish airspace.
Irish taxpayers paid out a whopping €10,000 a day to cover these charges in 2004 when the annual bill came to €3.6 million. More than €25 million has been paid in the past 10 years. The quid pro quo for Ireland is that the government jet doesn’t have to pay its way through foreign airspace. – Yours, etc,