Frankfurt airport: Climate activists stop scores of flights

The Last Generation climate group staged a protest at Frankfurt airport early on Thursday, causing the suspension of flights. 

"The continued extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal is a threat to our existence," the group wrote.

Airport officials issued a statement Thursday morning on social media site X saying: "Due to an ongoing demonstration at the airport flights are currently suspended. Passengers are asked not to go to the airport for the time being. Instead, it is recommended to check the status of your flight before traveling to the airport and allow extra time for your journey."

Later on Thursday, the airport said flights were "gradually resuming," but urged travelers to check with their airline before arriving.

DW's Daniel Koop reported "massive" lines and delays at the busy hub as traffic got back underway.

Police at the airport said eight climate activists had been detained. At least 170 flights were canceled due to the protest, with the airport saying further cancellations and delays could be expected.

German politicians demand better protection 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, whose ministry is seeking to punish unauthorized airfield trespass with up to two years imprisonment, criticized the blockades as "dangerous, dumb and criminal."

Faeser, a center-left Social Democrat also blamed airport operators for not better securing their sites.

"Airport operators must do more to protect their facilities, and we are in close contact with the firms on this," she said.

However, conservative Christian Democrat lawmaker Alexander Throm said the government itself needed to fund concrete measures to protect critical infrastructure.

"I find it incomprehensible that, even with the current security situation, it is possible to penetrate the security area of ​​large airports within a few minutes," said Throm.

Last Generation member Lina Johnson said the protest was not aimed at air passengers but at the German government. She pointed out that the government had failed to make sufficient progress on ending fossil fuel use and that this placed an unfair burden on future generations.

"We feel sorry for the people and like going on holidays, that they are getting delayed, but it's so dangerous the situation right now."

"Right now there is a pretense of a normality, a normality that no longer exists. And that is what the government needs to be ashamed of."

Activists promise wave of protests

The protest came a day after Last Generation members blocked Cologne/Bonn airport. A Cologne/Bonn spokesperson said that the activists were arrested for trespassing after gluing themselves to the runway.

The group had promised multiple demonstrations throughout the week, also breaching a fence at Norway's Oslo airport on Wednesday before being apprehended. They declined to comment on whether they would target the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

Last Generation was formed in 2021, the name is a nod to the activists considering themselves the last generation before the Earth reaches the tipping point and collapses in a climate breakdown. In Germany, their protests have mainly focused on blocking roads and runways in an effort to affect transport policy.

Last month, experts warned that Germany is almost certain to miss its 2030 climate goals to cut 65% of emissions.

es/rmt (dpa, Reuters)