A MAN has been arrested after allegedly causing damage to a US military plane at Shannon Airport.
The incident occurred at the Co. Clare airport on Saturday morning, with operations temporarily halted for around 25 minutes while authorities dealt with the matter.
The Irish Government has previously come in for criticism over the use of the airport by the US military.
Footage shared online showed a person on the wing of the aircraft, believed to be a US Air Force C-130 Hercules.
The person is then seen repeatedly striking the wing, vertical stabiliser and fuselage with an implement.
Separate footage showed the person being escorted off the aircraft.
In a statement, gardaí confirmed that a man had entered an unauthorised area of the airport on Saturday morning.
It added: “An adult male (aged in his 40s) was arrested for alleged criminal damage by gardaí shortly before 11am and is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 in a garda station in the Clare Tipperary Division.
“Investigations are ongoing.”
Last November, two men and a woman were arrested after a vehicle entered an unauthorised area of the airport.
Last month, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, People Before Profit once again reiterated its call for the US military to be denied the use of Shannon Airport and Irish airspace.
Meanwhile, in February, Amnesty International Ireland said it was ‘deeply troubled’ at reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flights were refuelling at Shannon.
“The US Trump administration’s cruel and inhumane mass deportation campaign must be denied any form of facilitation by Ireland to the degree that is legally possible,” said Stephen Bowen, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland.
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