Climate change activists cause havoc at German airports 

Several airports in Germany were forced to suspend flights on Thursday morning as environmentalists and climate change activists illegally entered airfields while flights were landing and taking off. 

Eight protesters caused flights to be delayed or suspended in Stuttgart, Cologne Bonn, Nuremberg, and Berlin Brandenburg airports in Germany. The activists caused the disruptions by gluing their hands to tarmacs at each of the airports, according to multiple reports.

A group known as “Oil Kills” previously encouraged such demonstrations, dubbing itself the “international resistance” that is going to stop oil, according to its website. Another group, called “The Last Generation,” celebrated the work of the activists who caused disruptions at the airports and published pictures of those who glued their hands to the tarmacs on Thursday, Reuters reported.

“Austria, Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and more are all taking action together this summer, demanding our criminal governments sign a binding, international treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” read the website’s opening statement. “Tens of thousands of people in our campaigns have already faced arrest. Hundreds have faced imprisonment. This number will rise. We carry on – because the consequences of climate collapse are far worse than whatever the state can throw at us.”

“This is all of our fight,” the group claimed. “We refuse to die for fossil fuels.” 

Thursday’s incidents were similar to those in July when climate protesters entered the runways at Frankfurt and Cologne-Bonn airports and glued their hands on the tarmacs. According to reports, the protests were in response to aggressive climate change activism that seeks to end reliance on fossil fuels by 2030. 

Moreover, these climate change activists announced intentions in July to disrupt other airports throughout Europe and North America. This included planned demonstrations in Oslo, Zurich, Vienna, and London airports. However, local law enforcement agencies in those cities thwarted those events. 

Germany Interior Minister Nancy Faesar called the protests “dangerous, dumb and criminal” and sought to punish those who participated in such demonstrations with strict penalties, including up to two years in jail, Reuters reported.

Airline companies have echoed similar sentiments. Lufthansa released a statement warning about the dangers of such protests and calling for more meaningful action. 

“The damage to the economy and society is immense. That is why the judiciary and authorities must take much more consistent action,” Lufthansa previously said in a statement.