air traffic
Climate activists shut down Munich Airport at the start of the holidays
Police and fire departments are on duty at Munich Airport. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Climate protection activists have once again invaded the grounds of an airport. At the start of the holidays, Munich Airport had to cancel all flights and planes were rerouted.
Climate protection activists shut down Munich Airport early Saturday morning. The activists had gotten into the inner area of the airport premises. “The airport is closed for security reasons because climate activists have stuck themselves on the runways,” said a spokesman airport.
As the airport spokesman explained, initially only planned landings in Munich from 5 a.m. were affected because take-offs were only allowed to take place from 6 a.m. The incoming planes were diverted to other airports.
The airport was expecting numerous holidaymakers on the first holiday weekend, with a total of around 350,000 passengers expected from Friday to Sunday. Munich Airport wanted to handle 2,860 flights during this time. Overall, seven percent more flights were registered during the Whitsun holidays, the second major travel wave of the year after Easter, than in the previous year, the airport announced before the start of the holidays.
An employee of the German Press Agency was able to observe at least two people sitting on the runways. The so-called Last Generation announced on Network Numerous police forces were on site.
Last generation wants to disrupt the start of the holiday at the airport
According to their own statements, members of the Last Generation had planned to get onto the airport premises in order to block at least one of the two runways. They wanted to disrupt the beginning of travel at the start of the Whitsun holidays.
The background to the protest is that air traffic accounts for almost ten percent of Germany’s responsibility for global warming. The airline industry is being subsidized by the state by waiving kerosene and VAT, the activists criticized. They are calling for more decisive political action in the face of climate change.
In the past, the group had carried out similar actions at several German airports, such as Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. In Munich there was already a blockade at the airport in December 2022. At that time, according to authorities, a plane that had an emergency patient on board was only able to land at the airport in the Bavarian capital with a 20-minute delay.