- Climate protest: Flight operations suspended between Cologne and Bonn
Due to a protest action by climate activists from the Last Generation, flight operations at Cologne/Bonn Airport were temporarily disrupted on Thursday morning. Passengers reported significant disruptions in air traffic.
Operations resumed at 7:25 AM, the airport announced. However, delays are still expected. Earlier, unauthorized individuals gained access to the airside area of Cologne/Bonn Airport.
Around 5:45 AM, it was reported that two people had glued themselves to a runway access road, a spokesperson for the Federal Police said. A hole was discovered in a fence on the airport grounds. The two activists, a woman and a man, were removed from the access road. They were taken to the station to have their personal details recorded, a police spokesperson said.
Nationwide Actions
According to the Last Generation, actions took place at several airports nationwide. Two activists in orange safety vests also gained access to Berlin-Brandenburg, Stuttgart, and Nuremberg airports.
They "peacefully expressed their resistance by displaying banners with the slogans 'Oil kills' and 'Sign the treaty'," the organization reported. "The runways were not entered."
Travelers at Cologne Bonn Airport expressed annoyance, a dpa reporter at the airport reported. "I don't understand at all because it doesn't really change anything," a traveler said. "One should also consider the security aspect when people get onto the runways."
The German government wants to tighten the Air Security Act to deter radical climate activists and other disruptors from dangerous actions at airports. The core of the planned reform, which still needs to be decided by the Bundestag, is the creation of a new provision that makes the "intentional, unauthorized intrusion" onto the apron, runways, and other restricted areas a punishable offense - if it endangers the safety of civil aviation.
The actions by the Last Generation also affected Cologne, as two activists managed to access the restricted airside area of Cologne/Bonn Airport early Thursday morning. Later in the day, some passengers were departing from Cologne, despite the disruptions and expected delays caused by the climate protests.
