Germany: Police stop climate protesters at Hamburg Airport
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A group of cyclists, who police said planned to blockade the airport to highlight climate change, were intercepted by officers. Several German airports have been disrupted by similar protests over the past week.
Police in Germany’s northern city of Hamburg on Friday said they stopped climate activists from disrupting operations at Hamburg airport.
A police crew stopped a group of cyclists near the airport at around 5 a.m. local time (0300 UTC/GMT).
The officers found equipment in the suspects’ bags that “suggested an intended blockade action at the airport,” the police said.
The equipment included bolt cutters, vests, posters and a sand-resin mixture.
Four suspects were temporarily detained but several others in the group reportedly fled the scene.
A fifth suspect, who police think planned to video the blockade from a vantage point in the airport, was also arrested.
Police said several officers were deployed to guard the fence to the runway, while a helicopter was used to monitor the scene and track down the suspects.
A spokesperson for Hamburg Airport said the police operation had no impact on flights departing or arriving.
Protests at several German airports
After a six-month lull, climate protests resumed in July at several German airports, including Munich and Dusseldorf.
Early on Thursday, a group of protesters glued themselves to the runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport, which delayed cargo flight operations.
On July 25, demonstrators targeted Frankfurt and Cologne-Bonn airports with similar disruption, which grounded flights for a few hours.
