Climate protest causes disruption at Heathrow traffic
A number of climate activists have staged a protest at London’s Heathrow airport, causing disruption to the air traffic in the UK’s capital city airport.
Over a dozen protesters chained themselves together on a runway at Heathrow to demonstrate against the building of a new runway.
They broke through security and held the protest against the environmental impact of the project, causing severe disruption with flights being cancelled and delayed.
The group called ‘Plane Stupid’ says 13 demonstrators were able to cut through the fences at about 3:30 a.m. local time.
One of the protesters, Ella Gilbert, said, "It's those who fly frequently and unnecessarily who are driving the need for expansion, and we cannot keep ignoring the terrifying consequences of flying like there is no tomorrow."
Police say so far six protesters have been arrested on suspicion of Aviation Act offences.
The runway was closed for almost three hours leading to over a dozen flight cancellations. The protesters were warned of the severity of their actions with a video posted online showing the police telling the protesters that, “as a consequence of you being here, you are causing severe disruption and it will be in the millions of pounds because it will take us a while to remove you. The cost will be in the couple of millions. The airport will attempt to make a civil recovery."
The actions of these protesters has brought forth the debate on security with the security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), believing the actions of the protesters have highlighted some security concerns that need to be addressed.
There has been a long running battle between Heathrow and the Gatwick airport on where a new runway should be built, with a report recommending a new runway at Heathrow rather than Gatwick.
Activists say, however, that building a runway at Heathrow will only increase air pollution.
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