Frankfurt, airport in chaos and cancellations due to eco-vandals’ protest –

Chaos at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, which was brought to a standstill today by environmentalists demanding a ban on fuel. Of around 400 daily flights, 140 were cancelled and police arrested at least eight activists. Traffic was disrupted for two hours, in the height of the summer season and with traffic above the annual average, before some runways were able to reopen. Seven activists managed to reach the runway by sticking to the asphalt, a police spokesman said. An eighth was still trying to get past the perimeter fence when he was arrested. Police managed to remove the activists from the restricted area of ​​the airport by 10 a.m. this morning.

The action was carried out by the climate activist group Letzte Generation (Last Generation), which claimed responsibility for the civil disobedience act. Its members used pliers to cut holes in the wire fence before making their way “on foot, by bike and on skateboards to different points along the runways,” the group said. A photo circulating on social media showed a protester sitting on the asphalt with an orange banner reading “Oil kills.” The group is pushing for a binding international agreement that would end the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030. Transport Minister Volker Wissing condemned Thursday’s protests as “criminal.” “Climate activists appear to be trying to cause maximum damage,” he told German media. “Lawmakers must react with maximum severity,” he added, calling for prison sentences of up to five years for airport raiders. “Anyone who violently enters airports, occupies runways and blocks planes endangers human lives,” he thundered.

Video on this topic

Thursday’s protest came a day after similar operations at several European airports. On Wednesday, activists from the Letzte Generation disrupted traffic at Cologne-Bonn Airport for several hours by sticking to the tarmac. Several climate protesters were also arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport. According to environmental groups, global aviation is responsible for around 2.5 percent of global carbon emissions, more than the annual carbon produced by Brazil and France combined. Meanwhile, the protests continue, with Letzte Generation announcing that it will protest from September 25 against planned government subsidies for Kassel-Calden Airport.