The last generation paralyzes Cologne/Bonn Airport
Activists of Last Generation reportedly glue themselves onto a runway and disrupt the air traffic at Cologne/Bonn Airport, according to police statements. Prior to this, members of the group reportedly cut through a fence and managed to reach the area. The duration of the disruption of air traffic is uncertain.
The air traffic at Cologne/Bonn Airport has been halted due to a protest action by Climate Activists. The Cologne police announced this. The group "Last Generation" declared that the air traffic would be blocked and published a photo of an activist with their hands glued to a runway. A banner with the inscription "Oil Kills" is also visible.
Three persons glued themselves early in the morning onto a runway, according to a spokesperson of the Cologne police. The police are in action at the airport. The duration of the disruption of the air traffic is uncertain. The group Last Generation stated that several activists had torn down a fence and had glued themselves to the asphalt near the start and landing strips.
"We demand that the German government draft and sign a legally binding, international agreement that regulates the global exit from Oil, Gas and Coal by 2030", the group's statement reads.
Through the network X, the group announced that the action was part of an international protest campaign that demands an exit from fossil fuel energy carriers by 2030. The protest was supposed to take place simultaneously at airports in more than ten countries worldwide.
"Similar peaceful, civil protests at airports are announced for at least the following countries: Great Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, the USA, Scotland and Norway", the activists explain in a press release. The involved movements support this initiative as "Oil Kills", write the activists in a press release.
Munich Airport paralyzed
Most recently, activists had blocked Munich Airport at the beginning of the Bavarian Pentecost holidays and significantly disrupted holiday travel.
The protest action caused a wave of criticism in politics. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wrote on the platform X: "Such criminal actions endanger aviation and harm climate protection, as they only cause misunderstanding and anger." She demanded: "The perpetrators must be consistently pursued, the security measures at the airport must be reviewed."
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing of the FDP emphasized: "This is not a legitimate protest, but a targeted interference in air traffic." The Airport Association ADV supported the call for harsher criminal consequences.
The group "Last Generation" also staged climate protests at Munich Airport, leading to travel disruptions during the Bavarian Pentecost holidays.
These international climate protests at airports, including Bonn and Munich, are part of a larger campaign coordinated through the network X, aiming for a global exit from fossil fuel energy carriers by 2030.
In response to the protests, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser criticized the disruptive actions, stating that they endanger aviation, harm climate protection, and cause misunderstanding and anger, calling for consistent punishment of the perpetrators and a review of airport security measures.
