Flight operations, which were interrupted at several German airports in the early morning after a protest action by the climate activists from Last Generation (Letzte Generation), are starting up again, according to airport officials.
But passengers are warned that there could still be delays.
Unauthorised persons had gained access to the tarmacs of the Cologne-Bonn, Berlin-Brandenburg, Stuttgart, and Nuremberg airports.
Berliner-Zeitung reported that actions at the Berlin-Brandenburg airport started shortly before 5 am. Within the hour further protests began at the other airports.
A spokesperson for the airport said that in the meantime, the take-offs and landings had to be "set to zero" for safety, but added that it did not result in a significant impact on air traffic. Air traffic resumed by 6:33 am.
By 5:45 am disruptions were felt at the Cologne-Bonn airport, where a police response resulted in a temporary hold on flights.
Two activists had glued themselves to an access road to a runway, a spokesman for the Federal Police told DPA. The police reported that the activists would be removed promptly Thursday morning. Police added that they were searching for a third person, who may also be on the tarmac.
A hole had been discovered in a fence at the airport grounds.
At the Nuremberg airport, flights were suspended flights for a little more than an hour.
The airport was up and running again by 7 am, it announced on Facebook, adding that the disruption caused six delayed flights, one cancellation and one flight to be rerouted to Prague.
Air traffic was reportedly not affected in Stuttgart where police immediately apprehended two people who had blocked a taxiway.
According to the Last Generation, in each of the actions two activists had managed to enter the airports wearing orange safety vests.
They "peacefully expressed their resistance by displaying banners reading 'Oil kills' and 'Sign the treaty'," the organisation reported. "The runways were not entered."
The protests in Germany are part of a larger campaign by the international organisation, including similar actions in several countries across Europe and North America.
✈️ Protest am Flughafen BER, Stuttgart, Nürnberg & Köln/Bonn!
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) August 15, 2024
8 Personen unterbrechen aktuell den Flugverkehr.
?️ Die Klimakatastrophe ist so viel beängstigender als jede Strafandrohung: Sie zerstört unser aller Zukunft! Es geht um unsere Existenz!https://t.co/m3a3Gd92nn pic.twitter.com/l5FBvq7NDQ
In a statement about the action on X the group wrote, "The climate catastrophe is so much more frightening than any threat of punishment: it is destroying our future! Our very existence is at stake!"
A series of protests targeting air travel
The disruptions on Thursday come less than a week after a series of demonstrations by Last Generation in airport passenger zones across Germany, which included several activists sitting on the wing of a parked passenger jet at the Sylt airport.
The group explained on its website that the current actions are part of an international campaign "Oil Kills", which calls for a binding fossil fuel phase-out agreement from governments.
The protest banners reading 'sign the treaty' referred to a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty that was spearheaded by the island nations of Vanuatu and Tuvalu, and has been endorsed by the World Health Organisation, the European Parliament and 77 Nobel Laureates and world leaders.
But considering the German government's reactions to Last Generation protests so far, it is more likely to prosecute the young activists as criminals than sign a fossil-fuel phase-out agreement or work more earnestly on climate protections.
In the latest move to criminalise disruptive climate protests, Germany's Interior Ministry recently introduced a draft law which would increase the punishment for people who trespass on airport tarmacs.
READ ALSO: Why are Last Generation activists in Germany getting prison sentences?
Also in July, a Last Generation activist was sentenced to prison for "criminal acts of protest" by a German court.
Last Generation member Hannes Sommerkamp, 17, explained why he joined a protest at Dortmund Airport last week in a statement released online: "For years, those in positions of power in politics and business have been too happy to shift responsibility onto all of us. The attractiveness of air travel instead of rail travel is artificially created by billions in subsidies! The problem is the government, not our vacation."
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