Members of the German climate activist group Last Generation stormed the runway at Munich airport and glued themselves to a taxiway, disrupting the travel of more than 100,000 passengers by forcing the airport to temporarily close on a busy holiday weekend.
The airport in southern Germany, the country’s second largest, closed completely at 5:19 am (03:19 GMT) and remained so for almost two hours, said Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU).
The airport association said more than 100,000 passengers were affected. Several aircraft had to be diverted to other airports. As a result, an aircraft with an emergency patient on board was only able to land 20 minutes late, authorities said.
Authorities said 60 flights at the airport were canceled on Saturday following protest action that closed the airport for nearly two hours.
Munich’s terminals were very crowded as it was a holiday weekend, airport spokesman Robert Wilhelm told DPA.
The new protest action triggered a wave of criticism from politicians.
“This was yet another absolutely stupid action by climate-chaotic people. Interfering with air traffic with such lockdowns – and at the start of the travel season – is not only reckless, but also potentially puts the lives of many people at risk,” he said Hermann, from the conservative Bavarian CSU party.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, writing in X, said: “Such criminal actions put air traffic at risk and undermine climate protection because they only provoke misunderstanding and anger.” She called for the perpetrators to be “prosecuted and for protective measures at the airport to be reviewed”.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing said: “This is not a legitimate protest, but a targeted intervention in air traffic.” He said people are at risk if air traffic is unsafe and there is also a risk of economic damage. He called for the Aviation Safety Law “to be more stringent.”
Airport Association (ADV) managing director Ralph Beisel called for tougher criminal penalties.
The airport was initially closed for security reasons, airport authorities and the Federal Police said.
After about two hours, one of the two lanes reopened, followed by the second lane about an hour later.
Around 1,000 takeoffs and landings were planned in Munich on Saturday, an airport spokesman said. Due to the tight flight schedule, delays continue even when runways reopen. Passengers departing the airport on Saturday should check with the airline he recommended.
The Last Generation reported on X that six people sat in groups of two in different locations at Munich airport.
Several police officers and firefighters were at the scene to remove the activists. According to Herrman, the six activists, in addition to two others who were unable to reach the runway, were detained. They are being investigated and could face prison sentences.
Climate activists cut through the security fence in four places at once and eight attempted to enter the site simultaneously from four different points, a Federal Police spokesperson said.
Munich Airport was expecting a large number of tourists, with a total of around 350,000 passengers expected from Friday to Sunday. The airport should receive 2,860 flights during this period.
Overall, 7% more flights were recorded during the Whitsun holiday, the second biggest travel wave of the year after Easter, than the previous year, the airport said before the start of the holiday.
Many countries, including Germany, have a public holiday the day after Pentecost Sunday, or Pentecost, which marks 50 days after Easter.
Last Generation said they specifically wanted to disrupt the start of the holiday weekend.
The group wants politicians to take more decisive action in the face of climate change. It announced at the end of January that it would refrain from roadblocks and focus on “sites of fossil destruction” – airports were explicitly mentioned. It has already carried out similar actions at German airports in the past.
Air traffic accounts for almost 10% of Germany’s responsibility for global warming. The airline industry is subsidized by the State through exemption from paraffin tax and VAT, activists criticized.
