Climate activists glued to runway halt flights at German airport, other protests foiled

FRANKFURT: Germany’s Cologne-Bonn airport suspended flights for several hours on Wednesday (Jul 24) after climate activists glued themselves to a runway, while similar actions at other European airports were foiled by authorities.

Cologne-Bonn airport, Germany’s sixth-largest, said it had resumed operations during the morning after halting all flights shortly before 6am.

The campaign group Last Generation said on X that it had blocked air traffic at the airport, and published pictures of several activists with their hands glued to the runway.

The group, which wants the German government to pursue a global agreement to exit oil, gas and coal by 2030, listed several countries across Europe and North America where similar airport disruptions were planned on Wednesday.

Authorities said separately that activists’ attempts to disrupt airports in London, Vienna, Oslo and Zurich had been foiled, and no major air traffic delays were reported there.

However, Last Generation activist Ronja Kuenkler told media after the Cologne protest: “Today was just the beginning. Over the next few weeks we’ll repeat this in Germany, Europe and around the world.”

She declined to say whether the Paris Olympics, starting on Friday, could be targeted.