Glued to the tarmac

Climate activists paralyzed Munich Airport

The airport had to be closed for security reasons.(Bild: APA/dpa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand)

In the early hours of the morning, climate activists taped themselves to several tarmacs at Munich Airport. The airport was immediately closed "for security reasons", as an airport spokesperson explained. The runways have since been reopened.

According to their own statements, members of the so-called Last Generation had planned to enter the airport grounds in order to block at least one of the two runways. Their intention was to disrupt the start of the Pentecost vacations. The group had already carried out similar actions at several German airports in the past.

The airport had to be closed for security reasons.(Bild: APA/dpa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand)

"The government is playing down the situation"
On the short message platform X, some of the eight members involved in the action explained their motives. Among other things, they said: "We can't afford to keep flying now if it means that we will soon no longer be able to afford food because harvests are failing due to the climate crisis." The government in Berlin was criticized for playing down the situation and subsidizing airlines.

Security fence cut open
As the airport spokesperson explained, initially only planned landings in Munich from 5.00 a.m. were affected because take-offs are only permitted from 6.00 a.m. onwards. The approaching aircraft were initially diverted to other airports. From Friday to Sunday, a total of 2860 flights with around 350,000 passengers were planned. However, it could still "take a while" before flight operations return to normal, it was reported this morning.

According to bild.de, the climate activists had cut their way through a security fence. Two of the activists were arrested near the fence.