- Climate protest at airports - several flights canceled
Actions by climate activists from the Last Generation have led to flight cancellations at German airports. In pairs, according to the organization's statements, activists gained access to the airports in Berlin-Brandenburg, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and Cologne/Bonn. In Cologne/Bonn and Nuremberg, flight operations were temporarily suspended, leading to cancellations and delays, as the airports reported.
In Cologne/Bonn, operations were halted for "about an hour," with 16 flights cancelled, a spokesperson said. In Nuremberg, flight operations were disrupted for approximately an hour and 15 minutes, according to a spokesperson. A round-trip flight was cancelled, six flights were delayed, and a flight redirected to Prague arrived late, the spokesperson reported. Airports in Berlin and Stuttgart stated that operations were not affected.
The eight activists from the climate group were taken into custody, police said. They had reportedly gained access to the airports between 5:10 and 5:45 AM through holes in fences and then glued themselves to the ground. In Nuremberg, for example, they were on the taxiway - the area between the apron and the runway.
The Last Generation explained in a statement that the activists peacefully expressed their resistance by displaying banners with the slogans "Oil kills" and "Sign the treaty." "The runways were not entered."
Call for complete abandonment of coal, oil, and gas
The group demands radical climate protection, including the complete abandonment of coal, oil, and gas, and the conclusion of an international treaty to that effect. Since early 2022, the group has organized street blockades where participants have glued themselves. They had previously announced a change in strategy, stating that they would no longer engage in gluing actions. The climate activists have recently carried out several actions at airports, including Germany's largest in Frankfurt.
Following the protest actions, calls for harsher penalties have been renewed. The actions are "a coordinated act of criminal extortion," said Ralph Beisel, CEO of the airport association ADV, according to a statement. They are "criminal offenses" that must be "consequentially punished" by the judiciary, Beisel said. The cabinet decision to tighten the Air Security Act must be "immediately" passed by the Bundestag.
The federal government aims to deter radical climate activists and other disruptors with the planned reform. The core of the reform is the creation of a new provision that makes the "intentional, unauthorized intrusion" onto the taxiway, among other areas, punishable - if it endangers the safety of civil aviation.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) sharply condemned the actions and also held airports accountable on the X platform. "These criminal actions are dangerous and stupid," Faeser wrote. "We have proposed severe prison sentences. And we are requiring airports to secure their facilities much better."
From ADV, it was reported that the multi-level security concept of airports, with the fence installations as a component, has proven itself. Air traffic was immediately halted. "The reporting and alarm chains function reliably," said CEO Beisel.
Dialogue offer to the Last Generation
ADV had made a dialogue offer to the climate activists last week. In an open letter, it stated: "It is undeniable that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Criminal blockades of airports do not contribute to the solution." The Last Generation shared on X that they accept the dialogue offer.
In Cologne/Bonn and Nuremberg, the activists' actions led to flight cancellations and delays due to temporarily suspended operations, as the climate's impact on aviation was evident through these disruptions. The Last Generation's activists, including those in Berlin and Stuttgart, have called for the complete abandonment of coal, oil, and gas, and the signing of an international treaty to address climate change.
