GoogleThree people have been arrested in the Republic of Ireland after a van was driven through a perimeter fence at Shannon Airport in County Clare.
The incident happened at about 18:30 local time on Thursday and caused the airport to close for a short time, preventing a number of flights from landing.
The van is believed to have been driven across a grass area beside the main road into the airport before it crashed through a perimeter fence.
While it breached the fence, the van was stopped from going any further by a trench.
How was Shannon Airport’s security breached?
It is believed a number of people wearing orange jump suits, hard hats and scarves then headed towards a taxiway near the runway before being seen, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ reported.
Protest group Palestine Action Éire claimed responsibility in a statement.
An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said officers responded to an incident of criminal damage at the airport and that three people arrested remain in custody.
Shannon Airport said there were “minimal delays of ten minutes to two flights” when the incident happened and that it is operating a normal schedule on Friday.
Anti-war protests at Shannon Airport
The airport has long been the site of protests over its use by the US military.
The Irish government offered the use of the airport to the United States in 2002 after the September 11 attacks, leading to it being used as a regular stopover for US troops travelling to fight in the Iraq War.
Anti-war protesters and, in more recent years, pro-Palestine protesters have made the airport a regular site of demonstrations over those connections with the US.
