Jet refuelling enough for 3,000 cars: Shannon Airport, Ireland

A privately-owned jet was filled with the largest ever amount of aviation fuel taken on by a single aircraft at Shannon Airport during a stopover on Wednesday night.

The Boeing 747-SP (Special Performance) jet took on enough fuel to fill almost 3,000 standard-sized cars during a technical stop at the airport.

The transiting Boeing 747-SP was filled with over 46,000 US gallons (174,000 litres) surpassing a previous record set by a massive Russian-built Antonov 124 heavy lift cargo plane.

“It was the biggest fuel uplift for a single aircraft in the history of the fueling business at Shannon Airport,” the airport has confirmed. It’s also believed to have been a record for any Irish airport.

With a litre of aviation fuel costing an average of €1, the total cost of the ‘fill’ is thought to have been around €174,000.

A Shannon Airport spokesman said they were not in a position to divulge the identity of the operator and would only confirm that the aircraft was a “passenger configured jet plane operating from the US to Asia.”

According to records, however, the only Boeing 747 to visit Shannon on Wednesday was one owned by Las Vegas Sands Corporation, an American casino and resort operating company based in Nevada.

The Boeing 747-SP jet, a modified and shorter version of the popular 747 airliner, arrived in Shannon on Wednesday evening.

The weight saved by the shortened fuselage allows the jet operate over a longer range compared with standard 747 configurations.

Las Vegas Sands is one of the leading global developers of destination properties and operates 15 luxury jets, mainly for transporting company executive and VIP guests of its resorts around the world.

The jet was previously operated by the Brunei Government and later the Government of Bahrain, but began its life in 1979 with the now defunct Pan American World Airways, better known as Pan-Am.

Source:  http://www.irishexaminer.com