They were images that only appear at the start of the summer holidays: in mid-July, hundreds of travelers queued up in front of the check-in counters and terminals at Hamburg Airport. But the mass rush at the start of the summer holidays was already a month ago – and the runways were empty. Apart from a handful of activists who blocked the runways in the name of the climate, delaying the summer vacation of hundreds of people.
It wasn’t the first time that climate activists found themselves stuck on tarmacs. As early as November and December 2022, the activists angered travelers and flight operators. Now there should be consequences. Lufthansa is demanding money, and other airlines are also checking whether they can claim compensation. But: Can they just sue the Last Generation like that? What does this mean for climate protest and freedom of assembly? And can the last generation pay amounts in the millions? The most important questions and answers:
On July 13th, last generation climate activists blocked the airports in Hamburg and Düsseldorf for several hours. Dozens of flights were canceled as a result. At Düsseldorf airport, 48 flights had to be canceled and two flights were diverted, an airport spokesman said when asked by Stern. As a result, the flights were delayed until the evening. At Lufthansa there are said to have been a total of 55 flights. Eurowings told stern that 45 flights had to be canceled that day. In a comparable campaign in Berlin there were ten. The activists had already blocked runways in various cities several times in November and December, including the capital.
In three cases, climate activists were arrested after getting stuck on the runways. The police are investigating several people. Lufthansa now wants to claim damages from Last Generation.
According to Lufthansa, the claims should apply to all airlines in the group, including Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Swiss. “Eurowings – like all other affected Lufthansa Group airlines – intends to assert claims for damages”; a Eurowings spokesman told the star. Condor is also examining claims for damages “as a result of the airport blockade in Düsseldorf and Hamburg,” a spokeswoman confirmed upon request. Tuifly is also examining a possible claim. However, the companies left it open whether they would sue.
A spokesman for Düsseldorf Airport described the blockade as “clear criminal offenses to which we are responding with all legal options available to us.” In addition to the claims for damages, the airport has filed a criminal complaint for “dangerous interference with air traffic, disruption of public operations, damage to property, coercion and trespassing.”
That depends on the legal form in which it is organized, said Dörte Poelzig, professor of civil law, commercial and corporate law at the University of Hamburg, to the star. Because no specific legal form can be identified from the information on the Last Generation website, it can be assumed that it is an unincorporated ideal association or a civil law society. “In both cases, the last generation could be sued,” said Poelzig.
Travelers have the right to sue certain climate activists. But this only works if the personal details are available, explained travel law specialist Hans-Joachim Blömke to “t-online”. Of course, travelers can ask the activists directly about this. But it’s easier on the road, because travelers usually don’t have access to runways.
However, travelers cannot cancel their trip due to blockades at airports, says the travel lawyer. They also cannot claim the money back from the airlines because they are not responsible for cancellations and delays.
However, travelers have the right to get to their destination using alternative means of transport, either another flight or train. This is what the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation provides. And depending on the delay, travelers are also entitled to a free meal at the airport.
This remains uncertain so far. If the activists were convicted of dangerous interference with air traffic, as Düsseldorf Airport has accused them of, they would face a prison sentence of up to ten years. However, according to the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office, there is “no sufficient evidence of a dangerous interference with air traffic.” Because that would “require a concrete danger to life, limb or property of significant value,” the public prosecutor’s office told the “Rheinische Post”. According to current knowledge, this is not the case because aircraft were diverted in time or did not take off.
And how expensive could it be for the last generation? This is also still unclear – although the costs could be calculated based on the affected flights. According to aviation expert Stefan Hinners, each disrupted aircraft sometimes amounts to five-figure amounts. Aviation expert Gerald Wissel expects amounts to be several million. “Hotels had to be booked for passengers, ticket revenue was lost, replacement aircraft had to be found, other crews had to be deployed, a lot comes together,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. When asked by Stern about the possible costs, Lufthansa and Düsseldorf Airport are keeping a low profile.
The Last Generation has not yet commented on the announced demands and lawsuits. The activists were also not available for a stern inquiry. They were busy training the next generation and organizing further protests, it said in an automatic reply. There will soon be a wave of protests in Bavaria – the last generation announced in a recent press release.
According to its own statements, the organization is financed largely through donations. According to a transparency report from Last Generation, more than 900,000 euros in donations will have been collected in 2022. The US Climate Emergency Fund is one of the largest donors to climate activists. The last generation has already spent 535,000 euros of this on renting event rooms, apartments for demonstrators and cars. The organization spent another 100,000 euros on materials such as superglue, posters and high-visibility vests. There remains a remaining budget of over 380,000 euros.
Heribert Hirte, professor of civil, commercial, corporate and business law at the University of Hamburg, believes it is unlikely that claims for damages will be successfully enforced. “If you don’t have any assets, you can’t pay anything. It can even happen that the plaintiffs are stuck with all the costs if the verdict is successful,” he told Stern.
This is controversial among lawyers. So far there has been no fundamental ruling in comparable cases. Courts recently convicted the climate activists repeatedly for coercion. Whether compensation payments are due depends, among other things, on whether the activists got onto the tarmac with a plane ticket, damaged something, unlawfully intervened in the commercial operations of the airlines or airports, or acted intentionally and immorally, Poelzig listed.
Courts would have to weigh up between the freedom of property of airports and airlines and the freedom of expression and assembly of the last generation. The question of whether the end justifies the means is similarly controversial: that is, whether the goal of climate protection can exclude immorality, explained Poelzig. “How the courts should rule ultimately depends on the individual case and the specific facts and therefore cannot be answered in general terms.”
Sources: ZDF, WDR, “t-online”, “Rheinische Post”, transparency report last generation, with material from DPA and AFP
