Flight operations at Cologne/Bonn Airport, which were interrupted early this morning following a protest by climate activists from the Last Generation, are now back in operation. However, there may still be delays, the airport said. Previously, unauthorized persons had gained access to the airside area of the airport grounds in Cologne/Bonn. The airport’s website provides information about the cancellations and delays at Departure and Arrival.
At around 5:45 a.m. it was reported that two people had stuck themselves on an access road to a runway, said a spokesman for the federal police. They were to be removed in the morning. They were also looking for a third person who might also be on the apron, said the spokesman. A hole was discovered in a fence on the airport grounds.
Die letzte Generation reports several disruptive actions at airports nationwide. According to the organization, two activists each wearing orange safety vests entered the airports in Berlin-Brandenburg, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Cologne/Bonn.
They “peacefully expressed their resistance by displaying banners reading ‘Oil kills’ and ‘Sign the treaty,'” the organization reported. “They did not enter the runways.”
The Last Generation is calling for radical climate protection, including the complete abandonment of coal, oil and gas. They are calling for the conclusion of an international treaty to this effect. Since the beginning of 2022, the group has been organizing road blockades in which participants glued themselves to the road. In the meantime, however, they had announced that they would change their strategy and refrain from gluing themselves to the road in the future. The climate activists have also recently carried out several disruptive actions at airports, including at Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt at the end of July.
Tougher laws should deter
By tightening the Aviation Security Act, the German government wants to prevent radical climate activists and other troublemakers from carrying out dangerous actions at airports. The core of the planned reform, which the Bundestag still has to decide on, is the creation of a new regulation that criminalizes “intentional, unauthorized intrusion” onto the runway and the taxiway – especially if this compromises the safety of civil aviation.
