Climate activists from the Last Generation group arrived on the runways at Hamburg and Düsseldorf airports on Thursday morning. At the start of the holiday in Hamburg, several people stuck to the runway, the group said. Due to a police operation, flight operations have been suspended since 6.10 a.m., the airport said.
“Takes off and landings are currently not possible.” A group of people gained unauthorized access to the airport site – near the runway system. “Air traffic had to be temporarily suspended for safety reasons.” Around a dozen flights have already been canceled in the morning. Further deletions cannot be ruled out.
It’s the first day of vacation in Hamburg. “We are actually expecting 50,000 passengers and 330 take-offs and landings, so of course we hope that we can resume flight operations as soon as possible,” said airport spokeswoman Katja Bromm. However, it is assumed that there will be delays throughout the day.
The environmental protection activists wrote on Twitter about the actions: “We protest against the planlessness and the government’s breach of the law in the climate crisis.” A spokesman for the situation center of the Hamburg police confirmed an operation at the airport. According to the group Last Generation, the activists gained access to the airport site through the security fence.
At the same time, activists of the last generation were stuck at the airport in Düsseldorf. According to a dpa photographer, six or seven people were on the access road to the runway in the morning. According to their own statements, the climate activists cut through a fence to get to the apron of the airfield. This would block the flight of the planes to the runway, it said. Flight operations are temporarily severely restricted, said the dpa photographer. A large number of emergency services are on site.
