Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport is one of Ireland's three primary airports, along with Dublin and Cork. In 2016, around 1.75 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the third-busiest airport in the country after Dublin and Cork. Shannon Airport is in Shannon, County Clare, and mainly serves Limerick, Ennis, Galway and the south-west of Ireland.HistoryBefore 2010In the late 1930s, transatlantic air traffic was dominated by flying boats, and a flying boat terminal was located at Foynes on the south side of the Shannon Estuary. However, it was realised that changing technology would require a permanent runway and airport.In 1936, the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1km2 site at Rineanna for the country's first transatlantic airport. The land on which the airport was to be built was boggy, and on 8 October 1936 work began to drain the land. By 1942 a serviceable airport had been established and was named Shannon Airport. By 1945 the existing runways at Shannon were extended to allow transatlantic flights to land.