Protesters try to occupy London airport
LONDON: Climate-change protesters descended on London City Airport on Thursday, gluing themselves to the terminal building and dancing on a roof but ultimately failing to cancel flights.
Protest organisers Extinction Rebellion had vowed to occupy the airport’s terminal and shut down operations for three days as part of its action in the British capital.
London City is the capital’s fifth-biggest - and most central airport, popular with business travellers, bankers and politicians for short-haul and regional routes.
On Thursday, 18,000 passengers are due to arrive or depart from the airport, with 286 flights scheduled. While some protesters got inside the terminal building, flights were continuing, though some were delayed.
Extinction Rebellion said protesters would lie, sit or glue themselves to “nonviolently use their bodies to close the airport.”
One went further, climbing over barbed wire to dance on the roof of the airport entrance as a live band played clarinet music below.
The group said they were protesting plans to expand the airport, which aims to have 6.5 million passengers a year by 2022, compared to the 4.8 million in 2018, and which has said there could be demand for as many as 11 million a year by 2035.
“Air travel is an icon of our fragile ‘just-in-time’ economic system. That system will break, as Climate Chaos hits,” group spokesman Rupert Read said.
Police have made hundreds of arrests so far this week.