In Hamburg, 50 flights were canceled by noon and ten more were diverted, in Düsseldorf the consequences of the blockade were less severe. The last generation declared that it was protesting “against the government’s lack of planning and breaking the law in the climate crisis”. The activists gained access to the airport premises via the security fence. In Hamburg, several protesters got onto the runway by bike.
Hamburg Airport stopped all flight operations for about four hours from 06:10 a.m. onwards. A particularly high number of flights with 330 take-offs and landings with 50,000 passengers was planned there for the start of the holiday season. As an airport spokeswoman said, 28 departures and 22 arrivals had to be canceled and there were delays. The spokeswoman could not say how many passengers were affected. Effects were expected for Thursday as a whole.
At Dusseldorf Airport, activists also cut through a fence and walked onto the apron of the airfield, blocking the flight of planes to the runway. Several flights also had to be canceled in Düsseldorf, and there were also delays.
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior told the “Handelsblatt” about the consequences of the actions: “The security authorities are in close contact in order to adjust the risk assessments again in view of today’s incidents and to further intensify security measures.”
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) sharply criticized the blockades. “These dangerous interventions in traffic must come to an end,” he told the t-online portal. What the last generation is doing is “not climate protection, but crime”. The activists did climate protection a disservice. “Anyone who spoils others’ well-deserved and long-awaited annual leave contributes to the division of our society,” said Wissing. “The rule of law must crack down here.”
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said on the sidelines of his summer trip: “The activists, who are now blocking people from going on vacation, are massively damaging the issue of climate protection – this form of protest is not right.” If you really want to work for climate protection, you have to keep an eye on social acceptance.
The new CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann called for prison sentences for the activists in the event of a repeat offense, possibly for several years. “The rule of law must be enforced, the law in Germany must be enforced,” Linnemann told Welt. “I think this country needs to talk more about imprisonment, because the rule of law shouldn’t allow itself to be demonstrated.” Fines and suspended sentences are not enough, Linnemann spoke of repeated prison sentences of “a few months, maybe a few years”.
