Swiss-bound passengers affected by Frankfurt airport protest
A blockade by climate protestors at Frankfurt airport on Thursday affected hundreds of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) passengers heading to and from Geneva and Zurich. Operations at the airport have since got back to normal.
Some 370 people were affected by cancellations, a SWISS spokeswoman told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Further effects are still unclear and the situation is being monitored. Knock-on effects are also likely once operations have resumed.
Air traffic in Frankfurt am Main was suspended in the morning due to a protest organised by climate activists. Several had gained access to the airport apron, said a federal police spokesperson. The Last Generation group claimed to have gained access to airport grounds.
+ Read more: Swiss climate activists continue to protest, but change ‘is not easy’
“We are doing everything we can to remove the climate activists from the apron,” a spokesperson for the federal police told the AFP news agency.
“Due to an ongoing police operation at the airport, no take-offs and landings are currently taking place,” the airport’s website stated.
On Wednesday, Last Generation activists already temporarily paralysed Cologne/Bonn Airport after sticking themselves to the tarmac at the airport. They were taken away by the police. Flight operations were able to resume after several hours.
Similar protests also took place at London’s Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, where nine activists from the Just Stop Oil group were arrested. In Norway, twelve activists blocked Oslo Airport. Similar incidents were also reported in Spain and Finland, while in Zurich, climate activists blocked the road to the airport before being removed ten minutes later by police.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dos
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