More Harrassment for War Monitors.

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday December 13, 2002 15:57 by Tim Hourigan tim_hourigan at hotmail dot com

Airport police violate Air Transport Act V,48 (3)

Yet again the rent-a-cop brigade at Ireland's unofficial air force base chuck a wobbler at the presence of Mssrs Cregan and Hourigan. When asked to identify himself, the senior ranking security guard refused, even when advised of his legal obligation to do so.

I got this one on tape too.
Conor and I went to the airport this morning with a friend of ours, Mike Schorsch. Mike was doing academic research in Ireland and flew back to Chicago today. We decided to see him off. On the bus we met another friend who was flying to the UK.

Mike wasn't sure if he'd get any hassle from the airport staff as they told him he was not welcome at Shannon when he witnessed them arresting Conor and taking his camera (against his will). But Mike had a return ticket from Shannon and he was going to use it.
As we arrived at the terminal we saw an ATA Tristar departing. (ATA are one of the charter lines transporting troops through Shannon.)

Anyhow, our friends checked in and went to the departure lounge, we saw them off, and noticed that we were being watched by a handful of airport "police".
We bid them farewell, and left the airport.
When we walked past the SRS hangar we stopped briefly to admire a poster that we could see hanging inside. "SHANNON AIRFORCE BASE Home of the 86th Air Wing". A guy by the door having a fag told us one of their mates had put it there and he suggested it was good work.
We agreed and walked on.
About 200 yards from the exit fo the airport road, two yellow Airport security vans zipped past us follwed by AP 10 (The airport "police" squad car)
We were surprised at this show of force and then noticed that another ATA Tristar had just landed.
The squad car pulls up to us and this guy gets out and comes over. He asks us our business.
We told him we were seeing friends off. He already knew this as he had been standing there watching them show their boarding passes.
He then said he'd had a complaint that we were trying to gain access to a hangar.
I reckon that's probably bull, cos the guy at the hangar knew we were only asking about the poster.
More likely the security were just watching us on CCTV and came up with an excuse to harass us.
We told him we had not tried to access anything.
He told us to leave. Openly displaying my dictaphone, I asked him his name and requested to see his warrant card.
He refused to do so.
I told him that under the Air Transport and Navigation Act 1998, Section 48 subsection 3, he is obliged to produce this when requested to do so. He again refused. I asked him again. He went back to his rant about leaving.
I said we had every intention of going as soon as he told us his name.
"You know who you're dealing with" he snapped,
"Now I'd seriously advise you to leave here with all haste".
"I don't know who I'm dealing with, that's why I'm asking" I replied
I asked his colleague, who was driving, to tell me this guys name, he didn't.
We turned and continued to leave, followed slowly by the car.
When we had reached the Industrial Estate we stopped around the corner to wait to see if they'd follow. Which they did. But they drove past. When they came back I went to talk to them, specifically on the obligation to produce ID.
(I've never refused them my name while on Airport grounds)
As I got closer to the car, they drove off.
We headed home, only to be stopped by a Shannon Garda Detective for a 'friendly chat' full of personal questions and a discussion of the law. I told him that the Airport "Police" should really read up on the law, cos it's a shame when we know more about it than them.
Edgy characters... maybe they should be sent to Templemore for a course in policing, (not by Donal Corcoran).

Here's the bit they need to study.

Air Transport and navigation (Amendment) Act 1998.

48.—(1) The company may, in relation to a State airport, appoint such persons or classes of persons as it considers appropriate to be authorised officers for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Minister may, in relation to an airport in the State other that a State airport, appoint such persons or classes of persons as he or she considers appropriate to be authorised officers for the purposes of this Act.

(3) A person appointed under subsection (1) or (2) shall, on his or her appointment, be furnished by the company or the Minister as may be appropriate, with a warrant of his or her appointment and when exercising a power conferred by this Act shall, if requested by any person thereby affected, produce such warrant to that person for inspection.