Cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport in the early hours of Thursday due to a protest by Last Generation climate activists.
Five of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground in the airport’s southern area and two more were prevented from doing so, a police spokesman said.
The activists were eventually removed from the tarmac around 5 am (0300 GMT), he said, adding that officers had discovered holes in the fence at the edge of the site.
As a result of the action, cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours after midnight, an airport spokesman said.
One of the two runways had been cleared for operation in the morning, and passenger flights began with a slight delay. The first flight took off some 15 minutes later than scheduled, according to the airport’s website.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is the fourth largest air freight hub in Europe, handling some 1.4 million tons of freight annually, according to its website.
Last Generation said that the protest aimed to send a message against the increasing air traffic, the planned expansion of airport capacity and the lack of a government plan to quickly phase out fossil fuels.
The climate group said in a post on social media platform X that the blockade would primarily affect freight traffic.
Accompanying photos showed activists on the runway, holding signs that read “Oil kills,” and at least one person with their hands glued to the tarmac.
The activists are now being investigated for unauthorised presence in the security area, trespassing and interfering with air traffic, among other things, said police spokesman Jens Damrau. They had cut a hole in the fence at the airport and thus gained access to the premises, he said.
The group was taken into custody. They were three men aged 21, 23 and 25 and four women aged 21, 23, 25 and 27.
The airport association ADV sharply criticized the action. Last Generation is using the summer break to gain maximum media attention, ADV said.
The group has so far turned down offers of dialogue, the association added.
According to DHL, 19 cargo flights had to be diverted due to the blockade. Such “irresponsible actions” not only hindered economically relevant activities, but also jeopardized the lives of the flight crews, the company said.
The authorities must do everything possible to prevent such acts, DHL said.
Last week, climate demonstrators disrupted air traffic at the Frankfurt Airport and at the Cologne Bonn Airport. As a result, the Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, announced that it would take security precautions.
