On Thursday, many environmental activists decided to disrupt air travel across Europe. They launched a coordinated effort and targeted many popular airports in Europe by blocking runways. One of the worst affected airports during these demonstrations was Germany’s Frankfurt Airport. As per reports, 270 flights were forced to be cancelled on Thursday at the Frankfurt International Airport due to the environmental activists’ protests. But what were these people protesting about? Read on to find out!
Climate Activists Block Runways & Halt Operations At Frankfurt Airport
🇩🇪 About 140 night and morning flights in Germany had to be canceled due to environmental activists.
Strange people in orange vests with placards in their hands ran onto the runway at Frankfurt Airport and glued themselves to it. pic.twitter.com/sIUZbY4Ifa
— Маrina Wolf (@volkova_ma57183) July 25, 2024
On Thursday morning, environmental activists from the group ‘Last Generation’ got into Germany’s Frankfurt Airport and launched a coordinated effort to disrupt air travel across Europe. As per The Hindu report, the six activists breached security fences early on Thursday morning and caused cancellations of 270 flights!
‼️OIL KILLS‼️
Norway, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden
Today, civil resistance groups across Europe staged a coordinated protest at airports. We are demanding a fossil fuel phase out by 2030.#OilKills #FossilFuelTreaty
1/2 pic.twitter.com/qyXTbjPMGL
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) July 24, 2024
According to ‘Last Generation’, they planned to target airports around Europe, especially Germany, to remind people about how fossil fuels are causing climate change. The group wanted to highlight that the oils used by airliners across the globe are causing harm to the environment and are a leading cause of climate change. They even called out European governments to end oil extraction and burning of fossil fuels by 2030. They were seen holding “Oil Kills” flags during the protests at the airport.
More than 100 flights cancelled at Frankfurt airport in Germany as climate activists disrupt air travel to raise awareness https://t.co/sMxcVRGiqX pic.twitter.com/3Ngdrqvh1G
— Michael Rass (@mikerass) July 25, 2024
As per the local police, the environmental activists damaged the perimeter fence and entered the airport premises at 5 AM. They then went on to sit at different places on the tarmac to disrupt flight operations at Frankfurt Airport. They were all detained by the airport police. Flight operations were resumed by 7:50 AM.
It should be noted that this was the second time in the last couple of days that a protest by the Last Generation group caused disruption at a German airport.
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Target Other European Airports & Disrupt Travel At Peak Holiday Season
More Information at:https://t.co/vG5cwU507I@_oilkills pic.twitter.com/JCkbIyNGkW
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) July 25, 2024
Not just Frankfurt Airport, but Airports across Europe were targeted on Thursday as part of this protest. Last Generation took to their X (formerly Twitter) to share pictures and videos of their activists protesting across various airports in Europe. The climate activists staged similar protests in Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK.
Es geht nicht um die Privatentscheidung der Einzelnen.
Es geht darum, dass die Regierung Öl ins Feuer der Klimakrise kippt
und uns vermittelt, dass alles bleiben kann, wie es ist.
Sie lässt diese Krise eskalieren!Yannick macht klar: Wir müssen handeln! pic.twitter.com/V7oyLJQmAi
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) July 25, 2024
These protests have been strategically planned at the height of the summer holiday season in the continent. The activists aim to raise awareness among people and bring the matter of climate change into the spotlight. The group wants to highlight that flying is one of the most carbon-intensive activities. Despite this knowledge, the aviation industry is expected to grow steadily over the coming decades with no efforts to contain the climate crisis, The Hindu reported.
Seeing that Frankfurt Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, the group has surely started the conversation they wanted to highlight! However, they did cause quite an uproar and hassle for the travellers who were scheduled to fly during their protests. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.
Cover Image Courtesy: X/@AufstandLastGen & Canva
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