Gridlock as runway rebels block tunnel
ANTI-Heathrow expansion protesters brought the M4 to a standstill yesterday as they blocked the main route into the airport with three cars.
Angry holidaymakers faced “bumper to bumper” delays while police worked for three hours to clear the obstruction on the eastbound section of the motorway in west London.
The tunnel at Heathrow Airport was closed as three protesters locked themselves to a car draped with a banner reading “no new runways”.
Two others sat in two vehicles blocking the route near terminals two and three.
Four men and a woman from the protest group Rising Up! were arrested for obstructing a highway. Police said one man was taken to hospital “as a precaution”.
Pointless
The protest sparked outrage, with campaign group Back Heathrow calling the actions of the protesters “selfish, short-sighted and counter-productive”.
“Most local communities living near Heathrow support expansion, and passengers simply want to be able to use the airport in peace,” it added.
“This pointless protest will merely aggravate thousands of ordinary people.”
Motorists slammed the closure. Air France employee Ryan McGuire said on Twitter: “Stuck in this #Heathrow traffic. It’s bumper to bumper. Anyone know what the protest is about?”
User Rosh tweeted: “Making people miss their flights doesn’t seem like the best way to get support.”
An airport spokesman said no flights were “impacted” and added: “We apologise to passengers whose journeys may have taken a bit longer.”
In October last year the Government backed a plan to build a third runway at the airport. An additional 260,000 take-off or landings will be permitted each year, up from the current cap of 480,000, according to a draft report.
Rising Up! said the expansion will cause further pollution and the protest stood up for “environmental justice”.
Activist Simon Bramwell, who broke court conditions imposed for taking part in a previous protest, said: “We will not stop until plans to build another runway are fully and finally shut down.”