Climate activists disrupt traffic at Frankfurt airport

On Thursday, police arrested climate activists who glued themselves to the tarmac at Frankfurt airport, Germany's busiest, causing a temporary halt to arrivals and departures.

Traffic was halted during the busy summer holiday season for two hours before the first of the airport's landing runways was able to operate again at 0502 GMT, said a spokesman at the airport, News.Az reports citing AFP.

Passengers were advised to check the status of their flights while the airport ramped up its operations again.

Seven of the activists had managed to reach the runway where they glued themselves onto the tarmac, a police spokesman said. The eighth was still trying to get through the perimeter fence when he was detained.

The police operation to clear activists off the airport's restricted grounds was ongoing, added the spokesman. All eight were arrested.

According to climate activist group "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) which claimed the civil disobedience action, its members had used pincers to cut openings in the wire fence before making their way "by foot, with bicycles and skateboards to different points around the runways".

A photo circulated by the group depicted a protester sitting on the tarmac with an orange banner "oil kills".

The group is pushing for a binding international accord that would lead to an end in oil, gas and coal use by 2030.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing condemned the protests Thursday as "criminal" action and demanded tough penalties against the activists.

"The climate activists are apparently seeking to bring about maximum damage. The legislators must react with maximum severity," he told German media, calling for prison terms of up to five years in jail for those who storm airports.

"Anyone who violently forces their way into airports, occupies runways and blocks airplanes is endangering human lives," he said.

News.Az