Craft is forced to refuel after protester delays flight
PASSENGERS yesterday rounded on an Extinction Rebellion protester arrested on board a Dublin-bound plane at London City Airport, as they urged cabin crew to ‘do us all a favour and remove him from the plane’.
The man forced the Aer Lingus flight to turn around on the runway and take on more fuel, amid three days of Hong Kongstyle protests.
Passengers arriving for flights at the airport yesterday had to show their boarding cards before entering the terminal, after XR protesters declared they would occupy and shut down the airport in East London.
The pilot on the flight in question was told about the on-board protest at the end of the runway, and the plane then had to turn around and taxi back along to the terminal before the man was arrested by police who came on board.
The pilot told passengers the plane ironically had to take on board more fuel to replace that used during the protest. Passengers applauded after the pilot praised the crew’s handling of the situation.
The man holding up the Aer Lingus flight, which later took off with a delay, calmly told fellow passengers: ‘I don’t wish to travel but I don’t wish to get off. I’m sorry, I’m very sorry, I’m extremely sorry for the inconvenience.’
As others said ‘how long are you going to be’ and ‘you need to sit down’, he added: ‘Today there’s a protest at this airport. We have two generations of human civilisation left if we carry on doing what you’re doing.’
Protesters were arrested while trying to enter the terminal, which was heavily surrounded by police. Many of the arrested were elderly people who smiled as they were led away and sat on the pavement before being removed in vans.
BBC Newsnight political editor Nicholas Watt said he was on board the Aer Lingus flight involved, tweeting: ‘Politely but persistently he declined [to sit down] and proceeded to deliver his lecture on climate change in aisle. Some passengers annoyed, others listened to lecture with humour as cabin crew alerted pilot.’
An Aer Lingus spokesman confirmed a passenger was removed from the flight and apologised for any inconvenience caused.