# Shannon Airport (SNN)

> Shannon, IE · IATA: SNN · ICAO: EINN · Large Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `SNN` |
| ICAO | `EINN` |
| City | Shannon |
| Country | IE |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 14 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| Cargo Rank | #2 |
| GPS | 52.70200, -8.92482 |

## Description

3,199 metres of runway – the longest in Ireland – explain much of what Shannon Airport (IATA: SNN, ICAO: EINN) means to the freight business. The strip on the Shannon estuary handles heavy-lift charters, freighter fuel stops and outsize project cargo up to Antonov An-124 size, work that Dublin rarely sees. Turkish Cargo routes A330 freighters of up to 70 tonnes payload from Istanbul through Shannon and onward to New York JFK, Chicago and Atlanta with full fifth-freedom rights, with ground handling provided by Swissport among others. Throughput reached 16,752 tonnes in 2023, about 23 percent above the 2018 level, and since IAG Cargo closed its handling facility at the end of 2024 the business has leaned more heavily on charter and project traffic; pharmaceuticals and perishables dominate the mix. Customs work runs through a dedicated C&E cargo terminal with its own customs office, which also covers Centralised Clearance for Import, and since 1986 Shannon has been the first airport outside the Americas to offer US preclearance. History buffs know it for two further world firsts: the first duty-free shop (1947) and the first free trade zone, the Shannon Free Zone of 1959. The surrounding region hosts a dense cluster of aircraft leasing and MRO companies – a sizeable share of the world's leased airliners is managed from Ireland – and the Shannon Airport Group is currently expanding its adjacent business park in a roughly €14 million development. Surface access runs via the M18 motorway, with Limerick about 25 km away and Galway roughly 90; shippers needing broad scheduled freight capacity usually fall back on Dublin (DUB), while the ports of Foynes and Cork cover the sea leg.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/shannon-airport-snn](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/shannon-airport-snn)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/shannon-airport-snn](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/shannon-airport-snn)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/shannon-airport-snn/llm-summary*