German Climate Activists Glue Themselves to Tarmac, Halting Flights

Protestors manage to temporarily suspend flights at Cologne Bonn Airport and Nuremberg Airport before police intervene.

Jack Daleo

Friday, August 16, 2024 at 02:54 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Activists temporarily suspended flights at Nuremberg Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany. [Courtesy: Nuremberg Airport]

Key Takeaways:

Climate activists from the "Last Generation" group temporarily halted flights at two German airports (Cologne Bonn and Nuremberg) by breaching security and gluing themselves to the tarmac, demanding an international ban on fossil fuels by 2030.
German officials and airport authorities strongly condemned the disruptive protests, labeling them "criminal blackmail" and "dangerous and stupid," and proposing stricter penalties, including potential prison sentences for breaching airport perimeters.
The Last Generation defended their actions as necessary due to perceived government inaction on climate change, while the broader aviation industry faces significant challenges in achieving its own net-zero emissions goals by 2050.

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A group of climate activists temporarily halted flights at two German airports on Thursday by gluing themselves to the asphalt.

Eight members of the Last Generation—an organization aiming to persuade the German government to sign on to an international ban on the use of oil, gas, and coal by 2030—used bolt cutters to breach fences at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (EDDB), Cologne Bonn Airport (EDDK), Nuremberg Airport (EDDN), and Stuttgart Airport (EDDS).