Tighter security standards for German airports after climate protests

Germany will consider new security standards for airports after climate activists from the group Last Generation managed to stop air traffic at two major German airports for several hours on Thursday morning.

Members of the activist group got through the security perimeters of both Hamburg and Dusseldorf airports and glued themselves to the tarmac. The activist group said they cut through security fences to gain access to the airports.

The protest coincided with the start of the summer holidays in Hamburg.

Numerous flights were delayed at both airports as a result of the protest. Incoming planes were diverted to other airports.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser pledged new security measures in view of the airport protest actions.

"There will soon be actual standards for operators of critical infrastructure. This also includes airports, and this will continue to lead to special security at airports," she said in Berlin on Thursday.

Germany's trade union for police officers also demanded improved security after the protests at the airports.

"It is catastrophic for aviation security that the 'climate stickers' managed to get onto the runway at Dusseldorf Airport," the union's national chairman, Heiko Teggatz, told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

He added that "fences and barbed wire" were not enough to secure airports anymore.

In Hamburg, flights resumed about four hours after the climate activists first accessed the runway area. According to current status information, 17 arrivals and 19 departures have been cancelled.

Hamburg Airport warned that further delays or cancellations could continue throughout the day due to the disruptions.

In Dusseldorf, a half-dozen Last Generation activists blocked flights by gluing themselves to a taxi-way to the airport runways. A spokeswoman for the Dusseldorf Airport was initially unable to say how many flights were affected by the protest.

On Twitter, the environmental activists wrote "We protest against the government's lack of plan and breach of law in the climate crisis."

Last Generation has gained widespread notoriety in Germany for repeated protests and high-profile stunts. Activists from the group regularly block traffic by gluing themselves to roads in cities throughout Germany.

The group has also staged more novel stunts in the past to highlight environmental harm caused by fossil fuels, including abseiling from motorway bridges, interrupting high-profile events and throwing food at famous artworks.

Flying is by far the most climate-damaging type of travel. According to the Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry, the demand for air travel in Germany increased sharply at the start of the summer season compared to the previous year.

This summer, air travel is expected to reach about 85% of 2019 pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

German Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck slammed the protest actions at the airports on Thursday.

"The activists who are now blocking people's holiday travel are doing massive damage to the cause of climate protection," he told dpa. This form of protest is not right, he said.

"If you really want to stand up for climate causes, you have to have social acceptance in mind," said Habeck, a leader of the Green Party.

Habeck said climate action should appeal to broad parts of society, finding its place in the centre.

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing also sharply criticized the protest actions.

"These dangerous interventions in traffic must come to an end. What Last Generation is doing is not protecting the climate but crime," Wissing told the news portal t-online.

"Anyone who spoils others' well-deserved and long-awaited annual holiday contributes to the division of our society," said Wissing, who called for strong legal action against those involved.

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann warned that Last Generation activists would face criminal charges and potential civil "claims for damages worth millions" of euros.