At least 13 flights had to be diverted from Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Thursday after several eco-activists broke onto the runway and glued themselves to the tarmac to protest greenhouse gas emissions.
The environmental group Last Generation has since claimed responsibility for the act and explained it as an attempt to persuade the public to stop traveling by air and force the government to stop subsidizing air travel. The group is also responsible for the recent string of attacks on priceless paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.
“In an airport area that is not open to the public, we encountered several people who had previously gained unauthorized access and some glued themselves (to the tarmac),” Berlin police announced on Twitter after the activists were detained and removed from the premises. The airport was able to resume operations after a nearly two-hour shutdown.
A spokesperson for the airport stated that the group, which includes a 70-year-old man, was able to break onto the runway from two points in the north and south. He could not say exactly how many flights were affected by the incident, but the airport’s operating company says that at least 13 flights had to be diverted to nearby airports.
Last Generation has been responsible for several protests in the German capital in recent weeks, and has blocked public roads and intersections. German Transport Minister Volker Wissing has said that Last Generation’s protests are becoming “ever more unscrupulous,” and insisted that society cannot accept this type of behavior.