Cologne/Bonn and Nuremberg airports temporarily paralysed by climate protests
Last Generation announced that the protests were part of a global campaign and demanded a phase-out agreement for fossil fuels. The group emphasized that runways had not been entered during the actions.
Cologne/Bonn Airport stated that unauthorized individuals had glued themselves to a taxiway on Thursday morning around 06:00. Federal and state police, as well as airport fire and security personnel, responded immediately. A total of eight departures and eight landings were canceled, with some delays occurring.
According to North Rhine-Westphalia Federal Police, two people had glued themselves. In total, three unauthorized individuals and a hole in the fence leading to the outer area were found. Two people from Cologne were taken into custody.
At Nuremberg Airport, there were six delays, one diversion, and one flight cancellation, according to its statement. The police arrested two people who had glued themselves to a taxiway leading to the runway, as an AFP news agency spokesperson said.
At Berlin Brandenburg Airport, two people glued themselves, as confirmed by the Berlin Federal Police. They were taken into custody and accused of trespassing. Operations were not affected at any time.
Stuttgart Airport reported that two people had blocked a taxiway. They were "immediately apprehended by police and security personnel." As the Reutlingen police explained, they were two women aged 23 and 27. They had entered the premises by damaging the outer fence in the air cargo center area.
There, they had glued themselves to a path away from the runway. The airport fire department removed them from the asphalt, and the two women were temporarily detained. Investigations have been initiated.
Climate activists from the group had already demonstrated at several airports in Germany in recent weeks. As a result, flight operations in Frankfurt am Main were temporarily suspended. Last week, activists' apartments in Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt were searched. They are being investigated for suspected blackmail, joint criminal damage, and trespassing.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) criticized Thursday's protests as "dangerous and foolish." "The hooligans are not only risking their own lives but also endangering others," she wrote on the online service X.
For the Union faction in the Bundestag, its deputy chairman Ulrich Lange (CSU) stated: "Not only must our airports be better protected, but there must also be harsh and swift penalties for the climate criminals."
The managing director of the airport association ADV, Ralph Beisel, described the protests by climate activists as a "coordinated act of criminal extortion." He stated that "these criminal offenses must be consistently sanctioned by the judiciary."
The global campaign against fossil fuels also reached Airports, as evidenced by the protests at various locations. In response to these actions, unauthorized individuals glued themselves to taxiways at several airports, causing disruptions and cancellations.
