A year ago he flew short-haul Climate activist Max Voegtli blocks the road to the airport
Several climate activists are stuck on a taxiway, disrupting air traffic at Cologne/Bonn Airport. The police are in action. Activists have blocked a road at Zurich Airport.
24.07.2024, 09:17
24.07.2024, 11:00
dpa
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- Air traffic at Cologne/Bonn Airport was completely disrupted on Wednesday morning.
- Several climate activists were stuck on a taxiway.
- Air traffic was also restricted in Oslo.
- In Zurich, activists blocked an access road.
A group of climate activists blocked the road to Zurich Airport. However, the action was over after ten minutes because the cantonal police broke up the blockade.
Max Voegtli was among the activists at the airport. He hit the headlines around a year ago when he was spotted boarding a short-haul flight to Paris.
It later became known that Voegtli also took long-haul flights. The activist then said in an interview: "I never said I would never fly."
The activists were part of the "Act Now!" group, which belongs to "Extinction Rebellion". Their aim was to "protest against a government that continues to fail to act in the face of the worsening climate crisis".
Hours of disruption at other airports
At several other European airports, activists caused hours of disruption to air traffic.
Five people were stuck on a taxiway in Cologne/Bonn in the early morning, according to a spokeswoman for the Cologne police. Air traffic was therefore suspended. The activists were not on one of the runways, but on one of the taxiways leading to them.
The police released two of the five activists at around 8.30 am. In the meantime, air traffic has been partially cleared again.
Criminal charges have been filed for violation of the Assembly Act, dangerous interference with air traffic and trespassing. It must be investigated how the activists actually got onto the site.
Oslo also affected
The Last Generation group reported that several activists had cut through a fence and stuck themselves to the tarmac near the runways. A spokesperson for the airport said that it would only be possible to get an overview of how many flights were delayed or had to be canceled as a result of the action during the course of the morning. Air traffic was suspended at around 5.45 am.
There were also disruptions to air traffic in Oslo. Three people gained access to the airport grounds, reports "TV2". The activists included the cousin of the Norwegian climate minister. Activists also cut through the fence in Oslo to gain access to the tarmac.
The group announced via Network X that the action was part of an international protest campaign calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels by 2030. The protest is to take place simultaneously at airports in more than ten countries worldwide, it said.