Early Friday morning, a federal police helicopter circled over the Hamburg airport grounds, while at the same time numerous police officers were on the move with emergency vehicles: police forces were apparently able to prevent a blockade action by climate activists at the last second.
According to MOPO information from emergency circles, the police checked four cyclists in the area of Krohnstieg Street near the runway shortly after 5 a.m. Initially, there was talk of a vehicle.
According to the police, the suspects had extensive equipment in their bags “which suggested the suspicion of an intentional blockade at the airport,” a spokesman said this morning. These included bolt cutters, vests, posters and a sand-resin mixture.
Hamburg Airport: Federal Police helicopter in action
The four suspects were provisionally arrested. A fifth person, who presumably wanted to document the planned blockade from a vantage point, was also taken into custody. One person initially fled.
The federal police deployed a helicopter to secure flight operations and track down the fugitives. Additional federal police officers guarded the fence leading to the runway.
You might also be interested in: Shock at Hamburg Airport: Man walks around on the apron – now he’s in trouble
The early morning operation had no impact on air traffic in Hamburg. “Flight operations were and are not affected,” said an airport spokeswoman.
Several disruptive actions by climate activists
Just last night, climate activists stuck themselves to the runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport, disrupting cargo flight operations. Last week, climate demonstrators brought flight operations to a standstill for a few hours at both Frankfurt Airport and Cologne/Bonn Airport. There was also a peaceful protest at Stuttgart Airport without any restrictions on air traffic.