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Community and Sustainability

Shannon Airport, together with Shannon Heritage and Shannon Commercial Properties, form part of Shannon Group PLC. The mission of Shannon Group is to manage and develop our aviation, tourism and property assets, to generate a sustainable commercial return, to drive excellence in safety standards and service to customers and to make a difference to the communities we serve.

Shannon Airport and it's Community

Each year we produce a number of community events including the Runway Night Run and Shannon Airport Santa Flights.  These events are an integral part of our community fundraising efforts for local charities. Since the establishment of Shannon Group in 2014,  our team have raised over €230,000 for a range of worthy charities. It is our small way of giving back and saying thank you to our loyal community of supporters. Read about our Charities of the Year here.
 

Shannon Airport and it's Environment

Shannon Airport recognises its responsibility to minimise the impact of the airport’s operations on the local environment by means of a programme of continuous improvement.

The Safety Compliance & Environmental Department manages the environmental programme at Shannon Airport and its role is dedicated to effective management and improvement in many areas including:

  • Waste Water treatment & monitoring
  • Air Quality monitoring
  • Surface Water quality monitoring
  • Drinking water quality monitoring
  • Noise management
  • Effective waste management & recycling initiatives
  • Energy consumption
  • Airport landscape and ecology
  • Community relations

Waste Water Treatment & Monitoring

The airport waste water treatment plant became fully operational in March 2007 and is designed for a population equivalent of 5,000. It encompasses primary, secondary and tertiary treatment elements in order to remove physical and chemical components from the waste water before the final treated effluent stream is released into the Shannon Estuary.

The plant is operated and maintained by Response Group on behalf of the airport authority and is charged with operating all elements of the plant including the environmental monitoring programme. Samples are taken monthly and tested for Ph, BOD, COD, Total Nitrogen, Ammonia, Total Phosphates and Suspended solids. Tests for Residual Chlorine, Sulphates and Oils/Fats and Greases are also carried out.

The discharging of treated wastewater to waters is licensed by Clare County Council and Shannon Airport holds a current discharge licence as required under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 and 1990. The wastewater discharged must meet certain minimum standards as outlined in the conditions of the licence.

Air Quality Monitoring

The quality of air at the airport is monitored at 6 monthly intervals in three strategic locations over continuous 10-day periods. The monitoring programme collects a range of data for a number of prescribed parameters, which are then compiled in a detailed report for review by the Safety Compliance & Environmental Department.

Surface Water Quality Monitoring

This monitoring programme involves the monitoring of the quality of airport surface water at eleven designated locations around the airport facility including airside and landside.

Samples are collected on a monthly basis and are submitted to an accredited independent laboratory. Surface water is analysed for the following parameters:

  • pH.
  • Biochemical Oxygen demand.
  • Chemical Oxygen demand.
  • Total Suspended solids.
  • Total nitrogen.
  • Dissolved Phosphorus.
  • Total hydrocarbons.

Accredited laboratories test all water samples and results and reports are submitted to the Safety Compliance & Environmental Dept. for review.

Drinking Water Quality Monitoring

This monitoring programme includes the monitoring of the quality of the raw water supply to the airport treatment plant from Rosroe Lough and the quality of the potable drinking water to the airport from the airport treatment plant at Firgrove.

The quality of the raw water is analysed monthly while the drinking water supply to the airport is analysed every second month.

Both the raw water and treated water are analysed for a number of parameters including: pH, bacteria and chemicals.  These parameters are then checked against national legislative standards i.e. EU (Drinking Water) Regs, 2014 (S.I. No. 122 of 2014).

Accredited laboratories test all water samples and results are submitted to the Safety Compliance & Environmental Dept. for review and comment.

Noise Management

Shannon Airport is committed to the minimisation of noise disturbance to the local community in the vicinity of the airport.

As the Airport Authority we must ensures that at all times, aircraft operators operate aircraft in a manner calculated to cause the least disturbance practicable in areas surrounding Shannon Airport.

Noise level monitoring on the apron/ramp area is undertaken periodically as part of this management strategy.

Effective Waste Management & Recycling Initiatives

Shannon Airport’s waste management policy involves effective management of a number of waste streams including airport generated general waste, recyclables and hazardous waste types.

Some of the more notable recycling initiatives include the recycling of office paper, inkjet/laser cartridges, batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

Energy

The running and operation of Shannon Airport requires a large energy input. Since the use of energy is an important environmental issue, we keep energy consumption as low as possible through the use of energy saving equipment and technology and through the education and training of staff working at the airport. 

The airport, as a public body, is now required to achieve a target of 33% energy efficiency improvement by 2020. 

Shannon Airport is required to report annual energy efficiency data to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and this is done via an online national energy monitoring and reporting system.  This system provides an important record of how public bodies in Ireland perform on an annual basis in terms of energy performance compared to a baseline year (2009).

Shannon Airport is considered a public body with energy consumption in the range of 5-50GWh.

Airport Landscape & Ecology

We believe in providing as attractive an airport landscape as possible, which is also consistent with airport security and operational requirements. This commitment to landscape enhancement together with caring for the local ecology, will continue during all future development of the airport.

Community Relations

We continue to listen to local concerns and strive to be responsive to community concerns in relation to environmental issues.

Access to Information on the Environment
 

EC (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 to 2018 otherwise known as the AIE Regulations provides that, subject to certain exceptions, information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public authority must be available on request to any person.
 
Shannon Airport releases, subject to certain exceptions, environmental information of most interest to the public through its website and company reports.
 
If you require information from Shannon Airport, you should first check whether this information is already available through these channels.
 
How do I request environmental information from Shannon Airport​?
Requests can be made in writing or by e-mail to:
 
AIE Officer
Airport Operations Dept.
Terminal Building
Shannon Airport
V14 EE06
 
Tel: 061 – 712471
E-mail: sustainability@shannonairport.ie
 
Where information is complex or difficult to retrieve, you may be asked to pay a fee for its retrieval and compilation before it is released.
 
When requesting information please include the following details:

  • Name and Address;

  • Specify the nature of your request; and

  • Your preference (hard copy or electronically) for the format of information to be supplied.

 
How long will it take to receive the requested environmental information from SAA?
Shannon Airport will attend to your request as soon as possible and not later than one month after the request for information is received. This timescale may be exceeded by a further month if the information request is deemed extensive or is difficult to retrieve, or if we have to consider other factors relating to its release, for example, commercial sensitivity issues.
 
The processing of your request will be helped if you can be as specific about what information you are requesting. We may contact you further to clarify your request and this may extend the time period further for the processing of the request.
 
Appeals Procedure
If you are unhappy with the response to your request for information, you have a right to have your request reviewed by another department within the public authority. There is also a right of external appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner who also oversees and enforces the AIE regulations.