US Military Aircraft through Shannon Between 18 March and 31 July 2024

  • Posted on: 18 May 2025
  • By: shannonwatch
Body: 

In March 2024 we published a list of US military and military contracted aircraft that landed at Shannon Airport or travelling through Irish airspace between 7th October 2023 and 17th March 2024. Most of them were going to or from the Middle East.

We have continued to monitor this flagrant abuse of Irish neutrality on a daily basis, and in this article we publish a list of aircraft we have recorded at Shannon between 18 March and 31 July 2024

All the aircraft listed here are US military or military contracted planes. As such they will have been granted with permits to land by the Department of Foreign Affairs or Department of Transport.

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The list is not a comprehensive list of all US military aircraft that landed at Shannon but it nonetheless highlights the airport's role in supporting US military operatoins abroad.

We will provide further articles listing US military landings at Shannon over the coming weeks. 

Date

Details

31 Jul

US Army Cessna UC035A 97-00102 landed about 09.15 coming from Wiesbaden air base near Frankfurt Germany. It took off again about 10.45 and flew on to Aberdeen in northern Scotland, and later returned to its base at Wiesbaden.

30 Jul

Omni Air N828AX landed at about 01.55 coming from Baltimore USA. It took off again about 03.30am on its way to Kuwait.

24 Jul

US Navy Hercules C130T 16-5314 arrived at about 17.45 from Naval Air Station Jacksonville Florida with a refueling stop at St. Johns Newfoundland. It spent the night at Shannon but did not travel on the Middle East. Instead it made a rather quick trip to RAF Lossiemouth in the north of Scotland taking off from Shannon about 10.15 and returning to Shannon at about 14.47.

Omni Air N846AX arrived at about 17.00 coming from Kuwait and Qatar. It took off again about 20.30 heading towards USA.

Omni Air N378AX landed at about 22.17 coming from Naples Italy and Chania Crete.

21 Jul

US Air Force C40B 02-0042 landed and took at about 15.40. It flew on to MacDill air force base in Tampa Florida.

20 Jul

Omni Air N819AX landed from Kuwait and Gdansk in Poland. It later flew on to Hunter Army Airfield in Savanah Georgia US.

19 Jul

US Navy C40 aircraft 16-9036, arrived at about 04.15, and stayed all day and overnight at Shannon. It took off again on Saturday morning (20 Jul) about 10.35 and flew on to Chania in Crete. It then flew back to Shannon, landing about 23.10 on 20 Jul, stayed overnight and took off again on 21 July.

13 Jul

US Air Force C40 02-0042 travelled through Shannon on its way from Florida to Tel Aviv on 12/12 Jul. It travelled back through Shannon on its return journey, arriving at about 15.40 (directly from Tel Aviv).

11 Jul

Hercules C130T 16-5316 refuelled and took off about 15.26 and flew on to Stuttgart in Germany.

US Navy C40A aircraft 16-5829 arrived about 01.14 coming from Naval Air station Oceana in Virginia.

10 Jul

Two US Air Force Learjet C21A arrived from Ramstein air base in Germany and then made a return journey to Ramstein. Registration numbers were 84-0083 and 84-0087.

9 Jul

US Navy Hercules KC130T mid-air refuelling aircraft 16-4598 landed at about 23.40, coming from Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida.

6 Jul

US Air Force C40C Boeing 737 landed at about 11.50 coming from Rome, Italy. It refuelled and then took off heading west towards the USA.

4 Jul

Omni Air N846AX landed at about 02.10 having made numerous deliveries around the Middle East, including probably at Constanta in Romania, Kuwait, Jordan.

1 Jul

US Air Force Hercules HC130J 19-5947 landed at about 14.30. It appeared to be coming from an air base in north Jordan but may also have been in Israel.

28 Jun

US Navy C40 16-5834 arrived at about 14.36 coming from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Washington State, with a refuelling stop at Newfoundland. It stayed overnight at Shannon and flew on to Chania in Crete.

Omni Air N819AX landed at about 01.00 having been in Bahrain, Jordan and Beirut Lebanon. It took off at about 03.56 for Fort Cavazos Texas.

27 Jun

Omni Air N846AX arrived at about 19.10 and took off again about 00.15 on 28 June flying on Constanta in Romania and then to Rzeszow in SE Poland near the border with Ukraine. From there it went to Karamelava air base in Lithuania. It flew back to the US to Hunter Army airfield Savannah Georgia on 29 June.

Omni Air N468AX arrived at about 22.11 having been in Oman, Crete and Naples. It took off from Shannon about 01.25 am 28 June for Naval Air Station Norfolk in Virginia.

US Air Force Learget 35 arrived at about 10.45 coming from Ramstein air base in Germany and took off again about 13.06 returning to Ramstein.

22 Jun

US Marine Corps, C130J Super Hercules 16-5739 landed at about 22.15 coming from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar California via St Johns NFL.

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 02-0042 landed at about 11.55 coming from several stops in the Middle East including Pakistan, Qatar and possibly Beirut or Cyprus. It took off again about 13.20 and then flew on to US Air Force base Mac Dill in Tampa Florida.

US Air Force Boeing 737 09-0540 landed at about 10.10 coming from Vienna, it took off again about 13.15 for Camp Springs air base in Washington.

US Air Force Boeing 737 number 05-0730 arrived at about 09.35 coming from Rome Italy. It took off again about 11.25 for Camp Springs Washington.

The two Gulfstream 5's and the two Boeing 737's are likely to have been transporting senior US government officials some of whom may be complicit in the Israeli genocide on the Palestinian people.

Omni Air N846AX landed at about 16.10 coming from Fort Cavazos Killeen Texas and Alexandria Louisiana. It took off again about 18.30 and flew on to Ramstein US air base in Germany. It flew from Ramstein and landed at Rzeszow NATO base in south east Poland near the border with Ukraine and one of the main delivery points for US soldiers and munitions to Ukraine. From Rzeszow it then flew on to Kuwait.

21 Jun

Omni Air N846AX returned at about 22.45.

Omni Air N819AX landed at about 17.08 coming from El Paso Texas and Baltimore near Washington. It refuelled and then took off again about 19.46 going to Sofia Bulgaria which is usually a US military refuelling stop on the way to the Middle East.

20 Jun

US Air Force C40 Boeing 737 02-0042 arrived at about 04.00 coming from McDill Air Force base in Tampa Florida. It took off again about 05.28 for Al Udeid US air base in Qatar which is one of largest US distribution bases in the Middle East.

18 Jun

US C40 16-6694, this one belonging to the US Navy, arrived at about 22.10 coming from Naval Station Oceana in Virginia. It seemed to spend two overnight at Shannon and took off on 20 Jun about 12.58 heading west towards USA. These type of aircraft are used to carry passengers or cargo.

On the 18 June US Navy C40 Clipper number 16-6694 landed at Shannon last night at 22.10 coming from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, it spent two overnights at Shannon airport and then on 20 June it returned to its base at Naval Air Station Oceana with a stop off at Washington.

17 Jun

US Air Force Gulfstream C37B 20-1949 landed at about 12.30 coming from Piza in Italy and Split in Croatia.

12 Jun

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 20-1949 landed about 10.20 probably coming from the Middle East. It took off again about 12.10 heading west towards the USA.

11 Jun

US Air Force Boeing 737 01-0041 landed at about 21.18 coming from Bahrain but was most likely on a tour of Middle East capitals with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. It took off again about 22.51 and flew on to McDill air base in Florida and from there later flew on to Washington.

10 Jun

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 01-0076 arrived at about 09.30 coming from Ramstein US airbase in Germany. It took off again about 12.40 and returned back to Ramstein.

8 Jun

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 aircraft refuelled coming from Rouen in France and then flew on to Camp Springs air base near Washington.

3 Jun

At least three Omni Air aircraft on contract to the US military refuelled at Shannon.

Omni Air N342AX arrived at about 12.30 coming from Kuwait and also very likely from Djibouti is East Africa with a refuelling stop at Sofia Bulgaria. It took off again about 16.20 heading west towards USA.

Omni Air N351AX arrived at about 01.27 coming from Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. It took off again about 06.35 and flew on to Kuwait with a refuelling stop at Sofia Bulgaria.

Omni Air N828AX arrived at about 13.07 coming from Poznan in Poland and from Lithuania. It took off again about 16.35 heading west towards USA.

US Air Force diplomatic aircraft 02-0042 arrived at about 22.00 having come from Washington and from Caen in Normandy, probably in connection with the D-Day commemorations.

2 Jun

Two small turboprop aircraft, Beechcraft C-12V Huron, both coming from the same mission in southern Morocco and flying almost in convoy, registration numbers 10-00261 and 95-00098, both spent the overnight at Shannon and took off for Keflavik in Iceland on Sunday morning.

US diplomatic type aircraft number 01-0041 landed at about 14.20 having come from McDill air base in Florida and Paris France. It also stayed overnight and took off on Monday 3rd June heading west towards the USA.

1 Jun

Omni Air N342AX coming from El Paso via Baltimore landed at about 15.05 and took off again about 18.45 heading east towards Europe, landed at Sofia in Bulgaria.

30 May

Omni Air N846AX arrived at about 09.20 coming from Marine Corps air station Cherry Point in US, took off again and flew on to United Arab Emirates.

29 May

Omni Air N828AX coming from Offutt air force base in Omaha arrived at about 14.40 and took off again about 17.30 and flew on to Kuwait and to Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar.

Omni Air N342AX arrived at about 2245 coming from Oman, Crete and Naples. It took off again on 30 May at about 01.52 and flew on to Baltimore.

Omni Air N207AX coming from Saudi Arabia via Sofia in Bulgaria, arrived at about 01.40 and took off again about 05.30 and flew to UN marine corps Cherry Point air station.

A diplomatic aircraft number 98-0001 landed at about 06.35 coming from Washington and took off again about 08.20, last seen flying over Romania.

27 May

Omni Air N477AX arrived at about 13.55 coming from Baltimore and from Fort Sill near Oklahoma, refuelled and took off again about 17.15 on its way to Sofia Bulgaria.

Omni Air N234AX also refuelled on its way back from the Middle East where it made stops at Kuwait, Al Udeid air base in Qatar, and in the United Arab Emirates and. It left for the US, landing at Biggs Army Airfield, El Paso.

26 May

Omni Air aircraft N468AX landed at about 18.50 coming from Sofia in Bulgaria and from Kuwait and Qatar, probably delivering armed US soldiers in support of US wars in the Middle East. Kuwait and Qatar are US military distribution points for various Middle East locations including Israel.

25 May

US Air Force 01-0041, most likely carrying a senior US official landed at about 17.25 coming from northern Italy near Milan. It took off again at about 18.40 heading towards the USA.

Omni Air N468AX landed at about 09.03 coming from Baltimore, and took off again about 12.40 on its way to Sofia Bulgaria.

Omni Air N234AX landed at about 00.04 coming from Dulles airport near Washington. It took off again about 04.10 and later landed in Kuwait.

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 18-1942 arrived from Camp Springs Washington at about 08.43, was refuelled and took off again. It landed at Tel Aviv airport at about 15.10 Irish time.

24 May

Omni Air N225AX landed at about 02.51 coming from Sofia in Bulgaria having also been in Cairo Egypt, and in Jordan. It took off again about 06.50 and subsequently landed at Shaw Air force base in South Carolina.

21 May

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 01-0076 arrived at about 11.08 coming from Ramstein US air base in Germany.

Omni Air N477AX arrived at about 10.00 coming from Goleniow in Poland.

Omni Air N342AX arrived at about 09.12 coming from Seattle.

17 May

US Air Force Hercules C130H 94-7318 landed at on 16 May at about 20.30 coming from Colorado Springs via Halifax in Canada. It stayed overnight at and took off at about 09.06 heading for Ramstein US base in Germany. From there it flew on to Rabat in Morocco.

16 May

Antony Blinken's aircraft US Air Force number 98-0001 arrived to refuel at about 03.00 coming from Rzeszow airport in Poland near the borders with Ukraine. It took off again for the US at about 04:00.

15 May

US Navy C40 16-5833 arrived at about 12.56 coming from Bahrain with a refuelling stop at Chania in Crete.

US Navy Gulfstream 5 16-6376 arrived at about 17.40 coming from RAF Northold and took off again about 18.34 heading west towards the USA.

12 May

US Air force Boeing C40 02-0042 landed coming directly from Tel Aviv Israel. It refuelled and took off again shortly after 03.00.

11 May

US Air Force C40C aircraft 09-0540 landed about 11.40 coming from Venice, refuelled and took off again about 13.30 heading west.

10 May

US Marine Corps aircraft Cessna Citation 16-6374 arrived at about 20.45 coming from Camp Springs air base in Washington via Keflavik in Iceland. 

9 May

US Air Force Gulfstream 5 landed at about 20.32 coming from RAF Northolt near London. It rrefuelled and took off again about 21.33 returning to Washington.

Omni air N477AX landed at about 08.00 coming from Marine Corps air station Cherry Point. It then flew on to Izmir in Turkey before returning to Shannon.

Omni Air N225AX landed at about 08.52 coming from Pope Air base in North Carolina. It refuelled and then flew on to Moldova as part of NATO's efforts to encircle Russia. It then returned to Shannon, refuelled again and took off for the US about 0218 on Friday morning

8 May

Omni air N351AX landed from Wright Patterson air force base, at about 23.00, refuelled and took off again about 02.00 flying to the Middle East. It was last seen flying over the Sinai Desert in Egypt heading toward Eilat airport on the southern tip of Israel (we were unable to confirm it if landed there). It then returned and refuelled at Sofia Bulgaria, and over flew Ireland around midnight. There are reasonable grounds to believe that it may have been delivering US troops and/or military materials to Israel.

6 May

US Air Force Boeing C40B 02-0042 arrived at about 08.20 coming from MacDill air force base at Tampa Florida. It rrefueled and took off again about 09.35 and then landed in Cairo, Egypt, probably in connection with the peace negotiations.

US Army Aviation Cessna executive jet 99-00102 arrived at about 16.18 coming from Rzeszow Poland near the border with Ukraine, and took off again about 18.00 heading back to Weisbaden US army air base in Germany.

5 May

Omni Air N207AX arrived from Fort Cavazos, Killeen, Texas, at about 21.10, and took off again about 23.30 heading for Lithuania. It landed again at Shannon on 6 May about 09.18 and took off again about 12 noon heading to Hunter Army air field Savannah Georgia US.

4 May

Atlas Air N662GT arrived at about 20.35 coming from Poznan in Poland, Constanta in Romania and Sofia in Bulgaria. The US troops on board had to sleep at Shannon Airport because there was no accommodation available for them in Limerick or Clare. It seems to have spent two overnights at Shannon (Saturday and Sunday nights) and flew on towards the US on Monday 6th May at about 14.54. It was not clear whether the soldiers on board had to sleep for the two nights at Shannon or just one.

26 Apr

A US Air Force turboprop Beechcraft 200 Super King Air was refuelled at the airport. It was. It came from Frankfurt and seemed to be heading towards Iceland on its journey back to the USA.

19 Apr

US air force aircraft 98-0002 landed. It was most likely transporting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken from the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy,

US air force Learjet5 84-0126 arrived from Ramstein airbase in Germany and seemed to head back in that direction again.

Ukrainian Government Airbus jet, number UR-ABA, coming from Chicago and Camp Springs airbase near Washington landed at about 09.05 and took off again about 10.35.

13 Apr

Omni Air N441AX landed at about 08.50 coming from Baltimore USA, refuelled at took off again about 12.44 and was last seen flying over Egypt and likely also going to the Persian Gulf.

11 Apr

US Marine Corps Hercules KC130T 16-4441 arrived at about 18.48 coming from Naval Air Station Jacksonville via Goose Bay in Canada. It stayed overnight in Shannon and took off on 12 April at about 13.45 heading towards the Middle with its unknown cargo. It landed at Crete and on 13 April it flew on to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf

10 Apr

US Air Force C17 Globemaster transport aircraft 08-8201 arrived at 22.50, coming from Mac Dill US air force base in Tampa Florida. After refuelling it took off at 00.55 on 11 April and flew on directly to Tel Aviv, Israel. On 13 April this same aircraft was tracked over Israel and over Lebanon.

9 Apr

Omni Air N819AX refuelled, coming from the US, and then flew on to Kuwait and Qatar

6 Apr

Omni Air N828AX arrived coming from US air base in Poznan, Poland and then flew on to the US.

Omni Air N846AX arrived coming from Kuwait and United Arab Emirates,

Omni Air N378AX arrived coming from Bulgaria and Kuwait and then flew on the US.

Omni Air N477AX arrived coming from Kuwait.

2 Apr

Omni Air N819AX passed through Shannon from US and travelled on to Kuwait and Qatar and then returned again through Shannon on Friday Apr 3rd on its way back to the US.

1 Apr

Omni Air N225AX arrived at Shannon coming from Dyes air force base in Abilene Texas at about 13.30 and took off again at about 17.00. It then flew on to Kuwait and made further stops and deliveries in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

27 Mar

US Navy C40A aircraft 16-8981 arrived at early this morning from Oceana US Naval Air Station in Virginia.

 

26 Mar

A German Air Force A350 number 10+02 arrived at Shannon from Koln Bonn via the Azores about 16.12 pm, stayed overnight and took off on 27th Mar  about 11.15, flew on to Toulouse and then Leipzig before returning to Koln Bonn.

24 Mar

Omni Air N234AX arrived from Austin Texas, and then flew on to Sofia in Bulgaria and to Kuwait.

Omni Air N477AX coming from Baltimore in the US arrived at about 07.15. It took off again about 10.58 and then landed in Kuwait.

Omni N351AX arrived from St Paul in the US, refuelled and then flew on to Poznan in Poland and from there to Bardufoss in Norway. It returned on its way bac to US Marine Corps Cherry Point North Carolina.

Omni Air N234AX landed at about 02.20 and took off again about 05.30 heading towards the US.

23 Mar

Two US Air Force Hercules HC130J’s arrived at about 08.00, coming from Davis Monthan air base in Tucson, Arizona via Bangor Maine. They stayed overnight for 2 nights and took off about 10.00 on Monday morning heading towards the Middle East or Near East. They were travelling close together throughout these long flights.

Shortly after 10.00 a US Air Force Boeing C40 aircraft 98-0002 that originated in Tel Aviv, Israel landed. It was no doubt carrying a senior US diplomat who is complicit in the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people may have landed at Shannon airport.

22 Mar

Omni N819AX arrived at about 14.30 from Baltimore Washington. It went on to maemultiple deliver and collection stops in Kuwait, Djibouti, Sofia in Bulgaria, Bardufoss in Norway and then Prestwick in Scotland.

OMNI air N477AX landed at 05.50 am coming from Bahrain and on its way back to the USA.

21 Mar

Omni Air N234AX arrived from the US, and then flew on to Nurnberg in Germany and from there to US base at Poznan in Poland, and later returned to refuel at Shannon on its way back to the US.

US Air Force Boeing C40B 02-0042 landed at about 09.35 on its return journey to the US. It took off again at about 09.50 heading to Andrews air base Washington. On 19 March this aircraft went out of its way to avoid travelling through Irish airspace on its journey from Camp Springs Andrews air base to Berlin and from there to Rzeszow airport in S E Poland close to the border with Ukraine. This airport is now being used as one the main delivery points of weapons and other military materials to Ukraine.

US air force KC130J Super Hercules 11-5719 landed from Davis Monthan air base in Tucson Arizona via Bangor Maine.

 These planes are being granted permission by the Irish government to come through Shannon. But there is no proper oversight of what they are carrying, or what military operations they are involved in or supporting.

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