Shannon Airport remains closed after unexpected heavy fog reduced visibility below safe operating limits late on Sunday night.
All outbound services were immediately cancelled while any flights were advised of the situation and diverted to Dublin Airport instead.
Flights in and out of Shannon remain cancelled on Monday morning while the airport is not expected to reopen until later in the day when weather conditions improve.
It is very rare that Shannon is forced to closed as a result of poor visibility. Usually Shannon is the airport that handles flights from Cork, Knock and Dublin when visibility is poor there.
On Sunday night, however, dense fog forced authorities to close the airport after visibility dropped below safe operating limits.
The poor visibility at Shannon was compounded by ongoing essential works being undertaken on a taxiway at the airport. This prevented the airport from implementing ‘low visibility procedures’ which they would otherwise have been able to.
A number of flights to and from Shannon were cancelled while no flights have operated in or out since the airport was closed shortly after 11.00pm last night.
Several inbound flights which were already on approach to Shannon opted to divert to Dublin Airport.
In a statement this morning, a Shannon Airport spokesperson said: “Due to unexpected heavy fog conditions during a period of essential taxiway maintenance work, Shannon Airport remains temporarily closed.
“As a result, flights in and out of Shannon Airport may be cancelled or delayed this morning, Monday 9th October. Passengers are advised to check their flight status directly with the airline in advance of travelling to the airport.
“The runway is expected to reopen later this morning once the fog clears, subject to weather conditions. We will continue to update passengers across our social media channels.”
Meanwhile, the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was prevented from landing at University Hospital Galway (UHG) last night as a result of poor visibility.
Rescue 115 had been tasked to airlift a patient to hospital from Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands. The helicopter crew had planned to fly the patient to UHG. However, on approach to the hospital, visibility was too poor to attempt an approach or landing.
As a result, the helicopter flew the patient to University Hospital Limerick before returning to land in Shannon before the airport was forced to close.
The flights that diverted to Dublin Airport last night include Ryanair flights from Manchester, Stansted, Fuerteventura, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Malta and Porto. Aer Lingus flights from New York and Boston were also diverted.
