Was in Paris last weekend for the match and when we landed in Shannon (in a brand new Ryanair 737-800, lovely plane) I was pleasantly surprised to see 5 F-18's and a Herc parked a stones throw away! I thought they were American flying to or from Iraq or somewhere but found out later they were Canadian F-18's which encountered re-fuelling difficulties on their way from Spain to Canada. The C-130 was infact a refuelling tanker; it's refuelling probe failed to extend and therefore forced them to land at Shannon. But what really surprised me was the lack of security around them. From what I could see there was an old Army jeep and a Civil Defence bus but not a soul around from either or any airport staff other than those dealing with our plane! Very slack on Shannon's part. I could easily and so wanted to go over and have a right look but thought it best not to. I think they took off fairly soon after that because going out the road home their lights were flashing and cockpits open.
