activism
Climate protest in penguin costumes at Sylt Airport
Activists disguised as penguins try to block the airport on Sylt. photo
© Axel Heimken/dpa
With their action, they actually wanted to prevent private jets from taking off. But the climate activists in penguin costumes could not implement their plans at Sylt Airport – at least initially.
Several climate activists in penguin costumes and with bicycles have temporarily blocked the airport on Sylt. During the first attempt in the morning, only a few of them got onto the airport premises, said a police spokeswoman in Flensburg. The spokeswoman could not say how many of them were on the premises.
However, airport employees were quickly on the spot and had prevented several activists from climbing over a fence onto the airport site, as a dpa photographer said. But they still managed to hold up posters and signs. It said, among other things, “Planes to scrap metal.” Passers-by also tried to hold the activists in the morning and the to hand over to the police.
Later, according to the dpa photographer, some managed to get onto the site from another side at short notice and ride bicycles on the runway. The police took her down from there. However, the airport had to be temporarily closed to private planes.
The group “Stay on the ground” wanted to “set a sign against the extreme injustice of private jets and air traffic” with the action, as they announced on Friday. Originally they also wanted to occupy the entrance to the private flight terminal, it was said. The Hamburg-Sylt route is one of the busiest private jet routes in Germany.