German climate activists disrupt cargo flights at Leipzig airport

Cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport in the early hours of Thursday due to a protest by Last Generation climate activists.

Five of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground in the airport's southern area and two more were prevented from doing so, a police spokesman said.

The activists were eventually removed from the tarmac around 5 am (0300 GMT), he said, adding that officers had discovered holes in the fence at the edge of the site.

As a result of the action, cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours after midnight, an airport spokesman said.

One of the two runways had been cleared for operation in the morning, and passenger flights began with a slight delay. The first flight took off some 15 minutes later than scheduled, according to the airport's website.

Leipzig/Halle Airport is the fourth largest air freight hub in Europe, handling some 1.4 million tons of freight annually, according to its website.

Last Generation said that the protest aimed to send a message against the increasing air traffic, the planned expansion of airport capacity and the lack of a government plan to quickly phase out fossil fuels.

The climate group said in a post on social media platform X that the blockade would primarily affect freight traffic.

Accompanying photos showed activists on the runway, holding signs that read "Oil kills," and at least one person with their hands glued to the tarmac.

The activists are currently under investigation for unauthorized entry into the security area, trespassing and interference with air traffic, a police spokesman said.

Last week, climate demonstrators disrupted air traffic at Frankfurt Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport. As a result, Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, announced that it would take security precautions.