asked the Minister for Transport and Power (a) the total number of military aircraft which have landed at Shannon Airport since 1st January, 1967; (b) the names of the air forces to which these aircraft belong; (c) why these aircraft used the landing facilities at Shannon; and (d) the average duration of their stay at Shannon.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Military Aircraft at Shannon.
5.
The information requested is as follows, for the period 1st January to 30th June, 1967:
(a) 167 landings; (b) the aircraft were operated by the Air Forces of United States, Canada, France, Germany, Belgium, Israel, Iran, Saudi-Arabia; (c) these aircraft landed at Shannon mainly for refuelling and crew rests; and (d) the average duration of their stay there was about 5½ hours.
6.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether an aircraft of the Saudi-Arabian air force was recently based at Shannon; if so, the length of time this aircraft was based at Shannon; and why it was there.
As I previously informed the Deputy, no Saudi-Arabian or other foreign military aircraft has been based at Shannon. I may say, for the Deputy's information, that a Saudi-Arabian military aircraft recently made a properly authorised over-night stop of some 16 hours for crew rest purposes.