Three people were arrested yesterday following a security breach at Shannon Airport, where a van was driven through a fence in an attempt to reach the runway area.
The airport was closed for a time after the incident, which happened shortly after 6.20pm.
It is believed that a white van was driven across a grass area on the main road into the airport and crashed through the perimeter fence.
While the front of the van managed to breach the security fence by several feet, it was prevented from going any further by a trench that runs inside the barrier.
It is understood a number of people wearing orange jump suits, hard hats and scarves over their faces then entered the airport's 'airside’ area.
They left the van stuck in the ditch and ran in the direction of a taxiway before they were detected.
Airport Police officers responded to the scene from both airside and landside directions.
Gardaí said they responded to an incident of "criminal damage" and that the three people are being detained at a garda station in Co Clare.
Once the breach was detected, flight operations were suspended for a short time.
This resulted in some inbound flights being placed on holding patterns until operations could resume.
A statement issued on behalf of Shannon Airport said: "There were minimal delays of ten minutes to two flights yesterday evening. Shannon Airport is operating a full, normal schedule today."
