Plane Stupid protest disrupts airport
03.03.09
Nine people have been charged with public order and trespass offenses after protesters barricaded themselves inside a ‘wire fortress’ on the tarmac at Aberdeen Airport this morning. Seven were detained on an airport taxiway at about 08:20, five hours after the protest by campaign group Plane Stupid began. Two other protesters, who had been on the roof of the main terminal building, were detained shortly afterwards. The five men and four women will appear in court on Wednesday.
The environmental activists were campaigning against an expansion of the airport, saying it will lead to more greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The airport's international arrivals hall is currently being upgraded, and the runway is to be extended to accommodate more passengers. The airport currently serves about 3 million passengers a year.
The protesters broke through a fence to gain access to the airport at 02:15, but the protest was cut short because an emergency medical flight needed to leave the airport. Out of 350 flights scheduled for today, 10 were disrupted. Flights to Heathrow, Paris and Amsterdam were among those delayed by the protest. Some offshore helicopter movements were also hit.
A spokesman for Aberdeen Airport branded the action ‘dangerous and highly irresponsible’. Airport managing director Kevin Brown said one of the key concerns had been to ensure the departure of an air ambulance. He said a flight, bound for Inverness, had been held up by the protesters, but not for a ‘significant’ length of time. A Plane Stupid spokesperson said the group left voluntarily after being informed of the needs of the pediatric team on board the flight.
The protesters had dressed as golfers in a dig at property tycoon Donald Trump, who backs the expansion of the airport after his plans to build a luxury golf resort in the area were approved. They draped a banner across the front of the terminal building, close to the BAA Aberdeen sign, which read ‘Nae Trump games with climate change’.
In December last year Plane Stupid caused disruption at Stansted Airport by occupying the runway in a similar protest.
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