Man arrested for allegedly damaging US military aircraft in Shannon airport

A man has been arrested after entering an unauthorised area of an airport in the Republic of Ireland and allegedly causing damage to a US military aircraft, police have said.The suspect, aged in his 40s, was arrested for alleged criminal damage and remains in custody over the incident on Saturday at Shannon Airport in County Clare.Footage circulating on social media appears to show an individual climbing on to a US Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft parked on a remote taxiway. A Garda Síochána spokesperson said in a statement: “On Saturday 11 April 2026 an adult male entered an unauthorised area of Shannon Airport, Shannon, County Clare. “An adult male (aged in his 40s) was arrested for alleged criminal damage by gardaí shortly before 11.00am 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.” In addition to gardai, airport police officers, Shannon Airport’s fire and rescue service and members of the defence forces on duty at the airport responded to the incident. Airport operations were temporarily suspended after the incident. Two departing flights were delayed while one arriving aircraft from Lourdes, France, was placed in a holding pattern. A spokesperson for the Shannon Airport Group said operations resumed shortly after the incident. “The airport suspended operations at approximately 9.50am and resumed operations at 10.15am.”