- Climate protest: No flights for one hour in Cologne and Bonn
Due to a protest action by climate activists from the "Last Generation", flight operations at Cologne/Bonn Airport were disrupted for about an hour on Thursday morning. A total of 16 flights were canceled - eight departures and eight arrivals, the airport said.
Operations resumed at 7:25 AM. Earlier, unauthorized individuals had gained access to the airside area of the airport. Passengers reported significant disruptions in air traffic.
Around 5:45 AM, it was reported that two people had glued themselves to a road leading to a runway of the airport, 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 road. They were taken to the police station to establish their identities, a police spokesperson said.
Nationwide Actions
According to the "Last Generation", there were actions at several airports nationwide. In orange vests, two activists each entered the airports in Berlin-Brandenburg, Stuttgart, and Nuremberg.
They peacefully expressed their resistance by displaying banners with the inscriptions "Oil kills" and "Sign the treaty", the organization reported. "The runways were not entered."
Travelers at Cologne Bonn Airport expressed annoyance, as reported by a dpa reporter at the airport. "I don't understand at all because it doesn't really change anything," said a traveler. "One should also consider the security aspect when people get onto the runways."
ADV: Tighten air security law "immediately"
The airport association ADV repeated its demand for a tough stance against climate actions at airports. The actions are "a coordinated act of criminal blackmail", said ADV CEO Ralph Beisel. The cabinet decision to tighten the air security law must be passed "immediately" by the German Bundestag, he demanded.
The German government wants to tighten the air security law 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 critical areas a punishable offense - if it endangers the safety of civil aviation.
The Federal Police were involved in the removal of two climate activists who had glued themselves to a road leading to a runway at Cologne/Bonn Airport. Due to nationwide actions by the "Last Generation", the Federal police may need to increase their presence at various airports to prevent similar incidents.
