With no flight delays or cancellations, environmental activists entered the runways at German airports in Berlin and Munich on Thursday morning to protest against the federal government’s climate policy.
“Activists (…) are sticking to the runway at Munich Airport (…) several demonstrators are driving to Berlin Airport,” the collective “Last Generation” warned in a press release on Thursday.
This is the latest high-impact action by these climate activists, which has given rise to multiple civil disobedience actions in museums or on the streets.
In Munich, the country’s second busiest airport, the north runway was blocked “for three quarters of an hour” by “four people” holding on to the tarmac, a representative of the AFP news agency confirmed.
However, no flights have been canceled as scheduled planes may depart from the “southern runway,” he added. The protesters were “taken away” by the police before being taken into custody.
In Berlin, “several people” entered a track, said a spokesman. This “had no effect on traffic”.
The “Last Generation” activists are targeting aviation, “a heavily subsidized sector that is partly to blame for the climate catastrophe,” they said.
Berlin’s BER Airport, the third busiest in the country, has already been targeted by activists. At the end of November, the activists had blocked a stretch by putting their hands on the asphalt.
This action had provoked the outrage of several political leaders, even within the government in which the ecologists hold key positions.
Home Secretary Nancy Faeser had criticized measures that “destroy social acceptance of the fight against global warming”.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz also criticized these actions and called on environmentalists to use “other forms” of protest.
In late October, the closure of a road by activists accused of delaying the arrival of aid after a road accident that killed a cyclist sparked controversy in Germany.