Climate activists in Germany blocked plane traffic at two airports on Thursday by gluing their hands to runways to stop flights. They blocked runways and taxiways at Hamburg and Düsseldorf airports on Thursday morning, causing delays, cancellations, and diversions for several hours.
‘Last Generation’, the group behind the protest, said they were protesting the government’s ‘lack of planning’ and ‘breaking the law’ in the climate crisis.
A police spokesperson said flights had been suspended at Hamburg airport at around 6 am after nine unauthorized people entered an area near the airfield, with eight of them gluing themselves to the ground.
Members of the group also cut through a security fence at Düsseldorf Airport in the west and blocked an access route to the runway, disrupting several flights before operations resumed.
In a video, one activist was seen spraying glue on her hands to stick them to the runway at Düsseldorf Airport. She told the camera, “We can’t watch any longer as our Earth burns with our government adding fuel to the fire every day with their fossil madness. That’s why we’re blocking the airport today”.
‘Why the protest at the airport? If not at an airport, where is the right place to protest the destruction of our livelihoods?” the ‘Last Generation’ said. “The world is on fire, and we are the last generation to have a chance to pick up the fire extinguisher.”
Transport minister Volker Wissing criticized the group and said, “The Last Generation isn’t protecting the climate; they’re engaged in criminal activity.”
