Berlin airport closed after protesters 'glue themselves to Tarmac'

Flights are diverted and Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport closed after climate protesters ‘cut through wire fence and glued themselves to Tarmac’

• Berlin’s airport closed after climate protesters ‘glued themselves to tarmac’
• Flights to the German capital’s Brandenburg Airport have now been diverted
• Activists from the Last Generation called on the public to stop travelling by air

Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Thursday said it closed its takeoff and landing runways due to unauthorised access of several people, while a climate group said its activists glued themselves to the tarmac.

The activists from the Last Generation environmental group called on the public to stop travelling by air and on the government to stop subsidising it, the group said on Thursday.

‘In an airport area that is not open to the public, we encountered several people who had previously gained unauthorized access and some glued themselves,’ Berlin police said on Twitter.

Footage obtained by Bild showed climate activists cutting through wire fences to access the runway before the airport shutdown. 

Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport closed after climate protesters from the Last Generation environmentalist group ‘glued themselves to tarmac’. A climate activist is pictured cutting a fence at the airport during a protest, posted by the Last Generation activist group

A spokesperson for the airport said police had detained the activists but the runways were closed in order for staff to check for and rule out the presence of further people.

Some of the diverted flight landed in neighbouring Leipzig, Hanover and Dresden. The Flightradar website also showed individual planes circling close to the airport, seemingly waiting for instructions.

‘This is just the beginning!’ said Last Generation, posting on Twitter after the shutdown.

The airport shutdown came at the same time as simultaneous protests across German cities. 

Climate-change activists sit on the road during a protest in Berlin on November 24

Climate-change activists stand on the road with banners during a protest in Cologne

Bild reported that airports in Dresden were overloaded after several diverted flights landed and not enough employees were available to handle the equipment. 

The spokesperson could not say how many flights were affected.

Initial reports from passengers said eco-protesters began cycling somewhere on the runways.

‘Thankfully Ryanair have lavished us with free drinks and caviar to pass the time,’ said one passenger sarcastically.

After it became known the protestors had glued themselves to the runway, another passenger said: ‘There’s hoping that the officers will have some solvent in their first aid kits.’

The passengers later said their plan was preparing take off. A spokesperson, speaking to German media, reported that the runway was eventually cleared. 

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