Climate activists paralyse air traffic at German airport

Berlin: Climate activists temporarily brought air traffic at Cologne/Bonn Airport in western Germany to a complete standstill on Wednesday.

Five members of the 'Last Generation' had entered the airport grounds through a fence and glued themselves to the runway. According to the airport operator, further delays and flight cancellations are to be expected during the course of the day despite the removal of the protesters, Xinhua news agency reported.

The police have filed criminal charges for violation of the Assembly Act, dangerous interference with air traffic, and trespassing.

The government has just passed a tougher penalty for obstructing air traffic, which is pending parliamentary approval, with prison sentences of up to two years instead of a fine.

With the action, the climate activism group was trying to put pressure on the German government to sign a 'Fossil Fuel Treaty' with international partners, a joint agreement to phase out fossil fuels by 2030, the 'Last Generation' said on social media platform X.

As an election promise, the country's governing parties in 2021 declared their intention to phase out coal by 2030. However, the plan has so far only been adopted for the most populous federal state, North Rhine-Westphalia, with experts doubting it is to be implemented in time.

At the international level, the Group of Seven (G7) countries, including Germany, agreed for the first time at the end of April on a common time frame for the complete phase-out of coal, aiming for implementation by the mid-2030s.

The 'Last Generation' has been polarising in recent years with road traffic blockades that caused much resentment among the population. At the beginning of 2024, they changed their strategy, shifting to "increasingly confront those responsible for climate destruction directly in future".