Climate activists protest at another German airport halts cargo flights

BERLIN — A nighttime protest by climate activists at Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany forced a three-hour halt to cargo flights, authorities said Thursday.

The protest of the The last generation group followed the protests last week at Cologne-Bonn Airport and then to Frankfurt AirportGermany’s busiest airport, causing significant disruption to passenger flights.

According to federal police, five activists landed on the airport grounds shortly after midnight, and two others were prevented from doing so, German news agency dpa reported. They were evacuated around 5 a.m. Last Generation said they did not set foot on the runways.

Leipzig/Halle is a major air cargo hub. Airport spokesman Uwe Schuhart said air cargo movements had to be suspended for around three hours from 00:30.

There did not appear to be any significant impact on passenger flights, which do not arrive or depart overnight. The airport’s website said the first plane took off at 5:41 a.m., about 15 minutes late.

Police said the activists, who cut a hole in the perimeter fence, were arrested.

Last Generation demands that the German government negotiate and sign an agreement on a global phase-out of the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

Last month, the German cabinet approved a law that impose harsher sanctions on people crossing the airport perimeters.

The bill, which still needs to be approved by parliamentarians, provides for penalties of up to two years in prison for people who intentionally trespass on airside areas of airports, such as taxiways or runways, endangering civil aviation or allowing someone else to do so. Currently, such trespassing is punishable only by a fine.