Around 50 people held an unannounced demonstration in the arrivals area of Terminal 3. Several activists also stuck to the ground and some of them stuck to each other, police spokesman Johann Baumschlager said in response to an APA inquiry. Passenger traffic was not affected, however.
The rally on Saturday was announced by the “Last Generation” for 11 a.m. The slogan “Oil kills” was unfurled on the spot and speeches were also given, Baumschlager said. Identification checks were carried out.
Photo gallery: “Last generation” protests at Vienna Airport
PROTEST “LAST GENERATION” ANNOUNCES STR…ACTIONS AT AIRPORTS: VIENNA AIRPORT (Photo: TOBIAS STEINMAURER (APA)) Bild 1/10
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As a result, several protesters stuck to the ground and to each other. The aim was to block Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, Baumschlager said. However, passengers were redirected by airport staff and the police, so there were no disruptions.
Charges against activists
Vienna Airport AG has filed charges against the eight activists who demonstrated on Wednesday. They are accused of property damage, holding an unauthorized assembly, disturbing public order and several violations of the airport operating regulations, airport spokesman Peter Kleemann told APA on Saturday.
Furthermore, civil proceedings will be taken against the eight activists who spilled paint and delayed the departure of a plane and compensation will be sought, Kleemann announced.
“On full alert”
There have already been several climate actions in German-speaking countries in recent days. At Cologne/Bonn Airport, several flights were cancelled on Wednesday because activists had stuck stickers on the runway. The same reason led to the suspension of air traffic at Frankfurt am Main Airport on Thursday.
Vienna Airport was already preparing for Saturday’s action in advance. CEO Günther Ofner said at a press conference on Tuesday that 670 police officers would be on site “on full alert” and that the area would also be monitored with drones. The almost 24 kilometers of airport fence could not be protected without electronic surveillance. These were “special measures in response to the announcement,” even though security is a high priority at the airport all year round, said Ofner.
From a political perspective, Lower Austria’s governor, Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), made a statement on Saturday. “I have absolutely no understanding for those troublemakers who have made a media-effective announcement about their mischief at Schwechat Airport and who want to spoil our fellow countrymen’s holidays,” said the state leader in a statement sent to the APA. “I would like to write a very simple message to you: you are not climate heroes, but criminals. Anyone who disrupts air traffic must go to prison.”
This article was last updated on July 27th at 12:23 p.m.
