The activists of the “Last Generation” regularly block streets in Berlin and thus repeatedly paralyze commuter traffic, especially in the morning. This time they chose a different target – the most important questions and answers.
There was a standstill at BER Airport on Thursday – for almost two hours. The reason: “Last generation” activists, known for their radical climate protests, had gained access to the airport grounds.
Some glued themselves, others were on their bikes. How did this even happen? What consequences did this have for air traffic? An overview.
At around 4 p.m., supporters of the “Last Generation” gained access to the airport site at two locations – both on the north and south sides.
This was announced by a spokesman for the Berlin Airport of the German Press Agency. In fact, the intrusion of the climate protesters could also be tracked online. The activists streamed the action live on Twitter for 33 minutes.
There, those who were interested could follow how the climate stickers snapped through a fence and entered the airport grounds. Then they held the well-known orange banners in front of the camera.
“We all have to take responsibility now and tell our government we all want a climate ticket and the introduction of a speed limit,” one activist was heard saying.
The video also showed how some protesters allegedly glued themselves to the ground. About ten minutes after the start of the action, blue lights could be seen in the live stream, and a little later police officers could also be heard.
It’s impossible to say exactly. A spokeswoman for the federal police could not give the “rbb” an exact number. However, she spoke of a person with a bicycle who was illegally on the premises.
“In the area of the part of the airport that is not open to the public, we encountered several people who had previously gained unauthorized access and in some cases glued themselves,” the federal police said in a Twitter post.
A spokesman for “taz” later said that two groups of three people were assumed.
They themselves, at least that is what the activists of the “last generation” claim. They allegedly dialed 911 just before entering the airport, according to a press release the group issued at 4:20 p.m. This information has not yet been confirmed.
The activists also point out that people of all ages take part in their protests. “Today, among other things, the 70-year-old Abo is blocking the runway of BER,” they write.
“Due to the unauthorized access of several people, both runways at BER are currently closed,” said the Berlin Airport Facebook page.
Initially, the airport had not reported any restrictions on flight operations. As the “taz” reports, aircraft on course for Berlin were diverted. Five machines landed at Leipzig/Halle Airport, eight in Dresden.
There was also talk of a machine from Istanbul that was supposed to land at BER and ultimately turned off via Eisenhüttenstadt. According to “rbb”, a total of 13 flights to Saxony were diverted by 6 p.m.
Yes. As reported by the German Press Agency, the two runways of BER were released again around 6:20 p.m.
