15 years ago Shannon airport became the first in the world to have US customs preclearance. Dublin has since followed and other international airports are hoping to get there as well.  It was the first time that US bound passengers could do all their customs on foreign soil and avoid hours of queuing in American airports.  It comes as Shannon will soon mark the 80th anniversary of the world’s first duty free shop.  But smaller airports still struggle to compete for business against the magnetic pull of Dublin airport.  

Joining Joe on the show this morning was Mary Considine, the Chief Executive of Shannon Airport.