The activities of foreign military aircraft landing in or overflying Ireland are a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The carriage of weapons or munitions on civilian aircraft, either landing or overflying, is prohibited under Irish law unless an exemption is given by the Minister for Transport. Civilian air carriers carrying weapons or munitions, wishing to land or over-fly Irish airspace are obliged to seek exemption from the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 of the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973.
The applications received by my Department from civilian air carriers identify the airports preceding and following the aircraft's arrival in Shannon.
The vast majority of the applications involve flights to or from the United States. Exemptions have also been given to aircraft from Canada, Israel and the U.K.