Several young people invade the runways, cling to the tarmac and crash landings and takeoffs
Young activists from the environmental group ‘Last Generation’ shut down air traffic at Berlin airport for more than two hours on Thursday after invading the grounds and blocking the two runways. The protest action led to delays in the takeoff of numerous flights and forced several aircraft to circle in the air in anticipation of landing. Other planes had to divert to nearby airfields to avoid fuel problems. The activists entered the grounds of the German capital from two different points around 4 p.m. after breaching the security fences. The young people broadcast their action live on Twitter, after informing the police of their intentions shortly before, which turned out to be a fait accompli.
While several youths blocked the runways with sit-ins, others interfered with the aircraft’s movements on the ground by encroaching into the aircraft parking area on bicycles. Last Generation said in a statement that several of its members blocked the runways at Berlin Airport after putting their hands on the tarmac. The activists want to protest against air traffic pollution and its consequences for global warming and climate change. “Due to the illegal entry of several people, the two runways of the BER had to be closed,” the airport management reported a few times later in a tweet.
Airport activity was able to resume around 6:30 p.m. local time after the youths were taken off the runways by police officers, who managed to get their hands off the ground. The protesters were arrested. They will likely face charges such as serious air traffic disruption. Given the radical nature of his actions, Germany’s interior minister, Social Democrat Nancy Faeser, recently warned that “the state will not allow you to mess with it. The police have my full support as they intervene against self-proclaimed climate activists who have been endangering other people’s lives for weeks with absolutely unacceptable actions.
‘Last Generation’ activists have been calling attention for weeks with spectacular actions about the danger of climate change. The evening before, two militants of the organization lingered on the conductor’s pulpit shortly before a concert at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Dressed in reflective vests, they demanded to speed up the fight against climate change. “Just as there is only one Beethoven violin concerto, we only have this planet,” said the two youths, who were taken away shortly afterwards by police officers who took them into custody.
His actions take place all over the world and have focused on museums. Recently, in Vienna, they poured liquid over a painting by Gustav Klimt, while at the Prado Museum in Madrid, two activists clung to the frames of Goya’s ‘Las dos majas’, in Australia they attacked Andy Warholl’s ‘Campbell’s Soup’, London’s ‘Sunflowers’ van Gogh and in the Barberini Museum in Potsdam a work by Monet. In Berlin, two activists are being investigated by the court for the fatal accident of a cyclist who was hit by a truck. The blockade of a central street by ‘Last Generation’ militants delayed the arrival of ambulances and firefighters at the scene of the accident, which could worsen the condition of the victim, who died in hospital four days later.
Source: La Verdad
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