This article is from page 62 of the 2005-11-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 62 JPG
MILLIONAIRE movie star and accomplished pilot John Travolta jetted into Shannon Airport on Thursday on board his private Boeing 707 jet which underwent a maintenance check before he con- tinued his journey to London Hea- throw late on Friday.
Mr Travolta, who recently turned down an opportunity to play the next James Bond, has been in Shannon at least three times this year and is thought to spend sev- eral thousand Euro annually on refuelling, landing charges and other services at the County Clare “bu oe a
On this occasion, the star’s jet which he flies himself, was seen being towed from a maintenance hangar at the airport. While au-
thorities at Shannon are reluctant to speak about private visits to the airport, a source confirmed that “there was no problem with the jet, it was just a routine technical check.”
During his last visit to the region in May, Travolta and his entourage, comprising as many as twenty four people, stayed at Adare Manor for a number of days. The wealthy ac- tor is known to have played several rounds of golf during his stay. Last March the star made a brief refu- elling stop while returning from a movie premiere in London on what have now become regular stopo- (ouSe
Travolta does not often enter the main terminal but usually parks his aircraft 1n a more remote area of the airport where he is “handled” by a private company. On this oc- casion however, the star mingled
with passengers in the departures lounge before boarding the jet.
The stars 40 year old jet parked at stand 37 at the airport’s main terminal building where it was refuelled. The superstar’s Boeing 707-138, appropriately registered N707JT, was first built in 1964 for Australian Airline Qantas and still retains the airlines old livery. Tra- volta purchased the jet from Qan- tas six years ago.
Plane mad Travolta, who named his son Jett, earned his wings in 1974 and also owns a Gulfstream II jet. He bought an airport near Ocala Florida and built a home right next to the 7,500-foot run- way. His Boeing 707 is equipped with bedrooms, a recreation room and three dining areas. The avid aviator 1s also accompanied on his transoceanic flights by two other captains and an engineer.