N819ax
Big and nice scheme. Boeing 777-2U8(ER). JetPhotos.com is the biggest database of aviation photographs with over 4 million screened photos online! Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Hogan 1:200 American MD-80 N588AA Polished livery McDonnell Douglas HG9680 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products! Boeing 777-2U8(ER). JetPhotos.com is the biggest database of aviation photographs with over 4 million screened photos online! Big and nice scheme. Aircraft N819AX - B772 - Omni Air International - AirNav RadarBox Database - Live Flight Tracker, Status, History, Route, Replay, Status, Airports Arrivals Departures Real-time flight tracking with one of the best and most accurate ADS-B coverage worldwide.
As Ireland takes its seat on the US Security Council, our Minister for Foreign Affairs said Ireland would hope to “build alliances to get practical things done”. He wants to see Ireland playing a constructive, impactful role, to try to build consensus, relationships and trust, and ensure Ireland becomes a credible voice (see Irish Times report).
“This means saying no at times and standing up for ourselves and our own principles, even when it is a friend coming calling.” he said.
And at the same time he is giving permission to the 'friend' who comes calling at Shannon every day of the week, looking to use the airport to refuel troop carriers and other military planes on their way to and from warzones that the same 'friend' has created in the Middle East.
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Flight CMB118 - US Transportation Command - AirNav RadarBox Database - Live Flight Tracker, Status, History, Route, Replay, Status, Airports Arrivals Departures.
The Minister appears to have no intention of saying no to the U.S. as it plunders the world's natural resources, spends billions of dollars on weapons, and creates instability around the globe.
Not to mention the fact that it is also in breach of our neutrality.
Here's what passed through in the last days of 2020 and the the start of 2021:
Omni Air troop carriers N225AX (Dec 29th), N351AX (Dec 30th) and N819AX (Jan 3rd). We tracked one of these (N225AX) from a Texas Air base to a US air base at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti which is used by US military to launch drone and special forces attacks on the peoples of Yemen and Somalia.
A U.S. Navy C40 (Boeing 737) registration number is 16-6696 landed on Dec 29th at 21:42, coming from its base in Oceana Naval Air Station in Virgina Beach. It stayed overnight before flying on to Naples at 14:35 on Dec 30th. It was back again at 10pm that night, left at 14:02 on Dec 31st flying back to the US.
This plane is operated by the VR 56 Squadron which is a US Navy logistics support unit. It's crew and possibly passengers had to stay overnight in Limerick or Clare in a local hotel, thereby contributing to the risk of Covid-19 infection in the area. To combat the spread of the disease, several US military bases instituted stringent level of restrictions according to a recent Forbes report. Yet Simon Standing-up-for-Ourselves Coveney thinks its ok to let them stay in hotels here.
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Another US Navy C40 registration 16-5836 landed on Dec 31st at 11:17 on its way from Bahrain via Sigonella Air Base in Sicily. It left again at 12:47.
On the night of 25/26 April 2017 as this plane sat on the tarmac with another US Navy C40, two peace activists entered Shannon Airport in an attempt to search it or to ensure that Gardai searched and investigated them. They are still before the courts charged with alegedly writing the words 'DANGER DANGER DO NOT FLY' on the engine of one of the warplanes. The trial is set for 13 December 2021, 4 years and 8 months after the peace action.
Ireland cannot be a credible voice on the UN Security Council until these planes stop landing at Shannon. And Simon Coveney could stop them at any time but he choses not to.
Photograph of 2 U.S. Navy C40's at Shannon from a previous visit
Shannonwatch are appalled at the continuing use of Shannon Airport by US military troop carriers, despite the issuing of a stop movement order to the US military by US Defence Secretary Mark Esper on March 25th. This was intended to halt travel and movement abroad for up to 60 days in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. However, troop carriers have been landing at Shannon as recently as April 10th, 11th and 12th.
“We are astonished that in these times of national emergency, our leaders continue to permit the landing of foreign troops at Shannon Airport” said Shannonwatch spokesperson John Lannon. “Facilitating the movement of troops half way across the world to invade and occupy other countries is never good. But now more than ever it is absolutely unconscionable and unacceptable.”
On April 10th, Omni Air N819AX arrived from Kuwait with a stopover at Sofia, Bulgaria. It used a call sign that indicated it was on US military business. The following day Omni Air N846AX landed, also using a military call sign. This one came from Al Dhafra Air Base in United Arab Emirates, again with a short stopover in Sofia, Bulgaria.
N819AX was back on Sunday, April 12th, with the military call-sign CMB593, returning once again from Kuwait via Sofia.
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Shannonwatch do not know if US troops on board these Omni Air aircraft were allowed into the airport terminal building. “Nonetheless we are gravely concerned that at a time when every effort is being made to restrict the spread of Covid-19 in Ireland, we are still allowing foreign troop carriers to land. There are reports that coronavirus has spread in 150 American military camps, with thousands of soldiers infected. Having these planes land at Shannon creates additional unnecessary risk for people working at Shannon, and for the population of Ireland as a whole.”
Shannonwatch have been holding monthly peace vigils at Shannon Airport since 2008, with protests against the US military stretching back to 2002 when the large troop movements through the airport began. This month, due to the Covid-19 restrictions their protests went online, with supporters tweeting their opposition using the #USMilitaryOutOfShannon hashtag.
N819ax Omni
“The ongoing use of Shannon Airport by the US army makes it, in effect, a US military outpost. This is contrary to the policy of neutrality we claim to hold, and almost certainly makes us complicit in war crimes” said Lannon.