Climate activists in Germany temporarily block Munich Airport

Munich, May 18 (IANS/DPA) Members of the German climate activist group Last Generation caused considerable disruption at Munich Airport on Saturday at the start of a holiday weekend by entering restricted areas, officials said.

The airport was initially closed for security reasons, airport officials and the federal police said.

After about two hours, one of the two runways was reopened, followed by the second runway around an hour later.

The Last Generation reported on the social media platform X that six people sat down in groups of two at different locations at Munich Airport.

Numerous police officers and firefighters were on site to remove the activists.

The spokesman for the federal police said that eight people initially tried to enter the site at four different points at the same time by cutting through the airport's security fence.

The airport spokesperson said it could take a while for air traffic to normalise on Saturday.

"We have planned a total of just under 1,000 take-offs and landings."

Due to the tight synchronisation of flights, delays can still occur for a while. Passengers who have flights booked on Saturday should contact their airline as a precaution.

The activists said they wanted to disrupt the start of the Whitsun holiday weekend. Many countries, including Germany, have a holiday on the day after Pentecost Sunday, or Whitsun, which marks 50 days after Easter.

The group had carried out similar actions at several German airports in the past. Air traffic accounts for almost 10 per cent of Germany's responsibility for global warming.

Source: IANS