Climate activists glue themselves at Munich airport to protest pollution caused by flying
German officials and local media say authorities closed down Munich airport temporarily after six climate activists broke through a security fence and glued themselves to access routes leading to runways
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.German authorities closed down Munich airport temporarily on Saturday after six climate activists broke through a security fence and glued themselves to access routes leading to runways, officials and local media reported.
The activists from the group Last Generation were protesting flying, the most polluting form of transportation, said the German news agency dpa.
Police have detained the six.
Incoming flights had to be diverted to other airports, an airport spokesperson said. After a couple of hours, the airport's two runways were reopened though some disruptions to flight schedules may happen, a statement on the airport’s official website said.
Last Generation posted on social media platform X, accusing the German government of “downplaying” the negative effects of flying on the environment instead of “finally acting sincerely.”
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser slammed the protests and called for them to stop. “Such criminal actions threaten air traffic and harm climate protection because they only cause lack of understanding and anger,” she wrote on X.
Fraser also applauded police efforts to bring order back to the airport and called for airport safety measures to be checked.
The general manager of the German Airports Association Ralph Beisel sharply criticized the climate activists’ actions.
“Trespassing the aviation security area is no trivial offense. Over hundreds of thousands of passengers were prevented from a relaxed and punctual start to their Pentecost holiday,” he told dpa.
Beisel also called for harsher penalties for activists who break into airports.
Climate activities blocked flights at Hamburg and Duesseldorf airports for several hours in July.
In January, Last Generation — known for gluing themselves to streets to block traffic which has infuriated many Germans — said it would abandon the tactic and move on to holding what it calls “disobedient assemblies.” Their actions have been widely criticized, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz described them as “completely nutty.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.