Watch: Berlin airport comes to a hiatus as climate activists glue themselves to runway

An airport in the German capital of Berlin experienced a temporary halt in flight operations after multiple climate activists glued themselves to the asphalt. On Thursday, activists from the Last Generation environmental group accessed the periphery of the Brandenburg Airport while riding bicycles and proceeded to glue themselves on the runway, Sky News reported. 

According to the Berlin police, "several people" were seen in a restricted area of the airport. On the other hand, the group claimed that the activists, which included a 70-year-old man, performed the act to encourage people from avoiding air travel and demanding the government to not subsidise it anymore.

“Airplanes are no mean of transport for common people. 80% of people never ever went anywhere by plane,” Last Generation said in a statement on its Twitter handle, adding that “only one very wealthy percent is responsible for about of emissions caused by air traffic.”

Last Generation group halts air traffic at Berlin airport

The group also shared images of the activists who had taken part in the act. “Supporters of the last generation are currently blocking the runway of BER.Some are glued to the asphalt, others ride their bikes across the shunting area, bringing air traffic to a standstill,” it wrote, while claiming that the group informed the police before entering the airport’s territory.

On the other hand, airport authorities shared multiple updates on the official Twitter handle. “Due to the unauthorized access of several people, both runways at BER are currently closed. We will keep you up to date,” BER wrote on Thursday. “Update: Flight operations have resumed on both runways. But there are still delays. We ask for patience,” read another tweet. A spokesperson for the airport revealed that the activists, who had gotten in from the north and south points, had been detained by the police. They also said that it was unclear how many flights had experienced issues due to the situation.