Summary
- Last Generation (Letzte Generation) climate protestors had entered Frankfurt Airport’s (FRA) airfield premises, temporary halting flights from/to the airport.
- The protestors urged lawmakers to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.
- The protest on July 25 followed several related actions at European airports on July 24.
Climate activists from the Germany-based organization Last Generation (Letzte Generation) had halted traffic at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), resulting in significant flight disruptions, including numerous canceled flights.
At least 140 canceled flights
Last Generation’s protest began during the early morning hours on July 25, with the organization issuing a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the “continued extraction and combustion of oil, gas, and coal was a threat to our existence,” calling for a ban of fossil fuels starting 2030.
The organization’s post also showed two protestors who presumably glued themselves to a taxiway at FRA.
Photo: Fraport AG
Flightradar24 data showed that at least 87 departures from FRA have been canceled on July 25, with another 57 FRA-bound arrivals staying on the ground at their origin airports.
In addition, at least 52 flights have diverted to other airports, including in Germany, as the protest had continued at the airport.
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Flights resuming
In an update on X, formerly known as Twitter, FRA shared that as of 7:50 local time (UTC +2), the airport has been operational, with flights resuming from/to the airport.
However, the airport warned that delays and cancelations could continue throughout the day, urging passengers to check the status of their flights with their airline before going to FRA.
Photo: Tamme Wichmann | Shutterstock
According to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, there were 613 scheduled departures out of FRA on July 25, with Lufthansa operating 364 of those departures on the day, or 59.3%. Condor and Air Dolomiti were the airlines with the second-most departures, with 33 flights leaving FRA each.
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Second day of protests
Nevertheless, the flight disruptions at FRA followed attempted and some successful protests at various airports throughout Europe, including Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN), Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL), Helsinki Airport (HEL), Barcelona El Prat Airport (BCN), Zurich Airport (ZRH), Geneva Airport (GVA), and London Heathrow Airport (LHR).
According to a statement that Last Generation issued on July 24, protestors had successfully entered the airfield at CGN, OSL, and BCN. At the latter, the activists “entered the airfield at the Barcelona airport, with the intention of gluing onto the tarmac close to the runway, but were intercepted before being able to do so.”
Photo: Letzte Generation
At HEL, the protestors were present at the airport’s security control, while at ZRH and GVA, they blocked roads leading to the departures and arrivals areas.
Meanwhile, members of the Just Stop Oil group had attempted to cut through the fence at LHR, yet were unsuccessful in doing so, leading to the arrest of seven people, according to Last Generation.
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