Frankfurt airport, Germany’s busiest, temporarily suspended flights after climate activists staged a demonstration near the airport runways.
The airport earlier posted on X that “Passengers are asked not to go to the airport for the time being”, advising travellers to check their flight status and allow for extra travel time. The tweet was later deleted and a later update said “flight operations are gradually resuming”.
A police spokesperson told Agence France-Presse: “We are doing everything to remove the climate activists from the tarmac.”
UPDATE 07:51 (UTC+2):
Due to a police operation, air traffic had to be temporarily suspended at FRA. Currently, flight operations are gradually resuming. We ask all passengers to check their flight status on their airline’s website before traveling to the airport. pic.twitter.com/qbaiLqkPwe— Frankfurt Airport (@Airport_FRA) July 25, 2024
According to climate activist group Letzte Generation (last generation in English), six of its members had used pincers to cut openings in the wire fence before making their way “by foot, with bicycles and skateboards to different points around the runways”.
A photo circulated by the group depicted a protester sitting on the tarmac with a banner “oil kills”.
The group, which wants the German government to pursue a global agreement to exit oil, gas and coal by 2030, has listed several countries across Europe and North America where similar disruptions are planned as part of a protest campaign that began on Wednesday.
Germany’s Cologne-Bonn airport, the country’s sixth-largest, suspended flights for several hours on Wednesday after climate activists glued themselves to a runway, while similar actions at other European airports had been foiled by authorities.
Global aviation is responsible for about 2.5 percent of global carbon emissions, more than the annual carbon footprint of Brazil and France combined.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse