BERLIN (AP) — Climate activists grounded themselves at Cologne-Bonn Airport in western Germany on Wednesday, suspending flights, authorities said.
According to police, five people were glued to a taxiway at the airport early in the morning and officers tried to free them, German news agency dpa reported. By 8:30 a.m., two of them had been removed.
The Latest generation The action group said in a statement that supporters broke through the fence in several small groups, walked to the airport and then glued themselves to the asphalt with a mixture of sand and glue.
The group demands that the German government negotiate and sign an international agreement on a global ban on the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030.
It was the last of several airport protests by climate activists in recent years, disrupting flights.
Last week, the German cabinet approved legislation that impose harsher penalties on people who breach airport boundaries.
The bill, which is still pending in lawmakers, would impose penalties of up to two years in prison for people who intentionally trespass on airport airside areas, such as taxiways or runways, endangering civil aviation or enabling someone else to do so. Until now, such trespassing could only result in a fine.
A sentence of up to five years would be possible in cases where someone breaks into an airport with prohibited objects, such as a gun, certain knives or poisonous substances, or if the break-in is intended to enable or cover up another offence.
