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Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested at London City airport Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested at London City airport
(32 minutes later)
Dozens of Extinction Rebellion protesters have staged a sit-down protest at an entrance to London City airport.Dozens of Extinction Rebellion protesters have staged a sit-down protest at an entrance to London City airport.
Protesters chanted “fly today, gone tomorrow” as they sat at the exit of the airport’s DLR railway station, blocked from entering by a line of police, just after 9am. Protesters chanted “fly today, gone tomorrow” as they sat at the exit of the airport’s Docklands Light Railway station, blocked by a line of police from entering the airport, just after 9am.
There was a heavy police presence at the airport as protesters arrived on the DLR for their attempt to occupy the site. Even before the protest began, security guards were demanding to see boarding passes before allowing anyone access.
Even before the protest began, security guards at the entrance to the airport were demanding to see boarding passes before allowing anyone access. Police were picking up protesters and carrying them away, but some had glued themselves to the floor and to each other. A witness said two women had been arrested earlier as they arrived at the scene.
Two women had earlier been arrested as they arrived at the scene, a witness said. The protest is against the climate impact of flying and the government’s support for airport expansion. Rupert Read, a spokesman for Extinction Rebellion, said: “By non-violently shutting down this airport, in homage to the style of the Hong Kong democracy protesters, we are demonstrating the utter frailty of the transport systems that countries such as ours, unwisely, have come to depend upon.”
The latest protest is against the climate impact of flying and the government’s support of airport expansion. The group said hundreds of people had signed up to take part in the protest and were willing to risk being arrested.
Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Rupert Read said: “By non-violently shutting down this airport, in homage to the style of the Hong Kong democracy protesters, we are demonstrating the utter frailty of the transport systems that countries such as ours, unwisely, have come to depend upon.” One protester, Val Saunders, 65, from Stroud, said: “We got off the coach today, we looked around, it’s like HG Wells. All this infrastructure, all these airports, they are just spreading out more and more. It’s just encouraging people to fly more. It’s going in the wrong direction, this government.
The group said hundreds of people had already signed up to take part in the protest, which will seem them “non-violently use their bodies” to close the airport. “I’m so angry. If we keep going with expansions, there is no future. [The protest is] a way of telling people: yeah, this is the right thing to do, this is the way to go, we need more and more – no, we need less, we need to stock-take what we have. We need to reassess. We need to use some of the money, those billions that go into expansions, put that into alternative energy.”
It said those taking part were willing to risk being arrested to achieve their aim. Hundreds of police officers were being drafted in from across England and Wales to help the Metropolitan police with the protests, now in their third day. Flights appeared to be operating as normal. A spokesman for the airport said: “We can confirm that a number of protesters have arrived at London City airport. We continue to work closely with the Metropolitan police to ensure the safe operation of the airport, which remains fully open and operational. As of 9.15am there have been over 60 flights which have either arrived or departed.
“If you are flying from London City today, please check the status of your flight with your airline before travelling to the airport.”
Hundreds of police officers are being drafted in from across England and Wales to help the Metropolitan police deal with protests in London that are now in their third day.
In Westminster, tents and protesters have been cleared away from roads leading to Parliament Square, but the streets around parliament and Whitehall remained closed to traffic.
At Trafalgar Square, tents, banners and a hearse still blocked roads, and a protest camp occupied the pedestrian area of the square. More protesters were camped in dozens of tents in nearby St James’s Park.
Extinction RebellionExtinction Rebellion
Environmental activism
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