Demonstrators from the climate activist group “Last Generation” blocked the runway at Cologne Airport on Thursday.
Activists filmed themselves on the tarmac, speaking out against the use of fossil fuels and air travel. Images from inside the airport show dozens of canceled flights and hundreds of stranded travelers.
The Germany-based group regularly disrupts public events and traffic and often resorts to publicly damaging historical works of art to attract attention.
“Billions of human lives are at stake. Climate change is already a reality for many people. We still have the privilege of being able to do something about it here. Please join OIL KILLS!” says a woman sitting on the tarmac, according to the translation.
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Other pictures showed some activists stuck to the catwalk.
The organization said eight of its activists had been taken into custody. Later on Thursday, it confirmed that all eight had since been released.
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The Association of German Airport Companies (ADV) condemned the demonstration in a statement on Thursday.
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“Today’s disruptions at several airports are a concerted act of criminal blackmail. This is not a peaceful protest and it is not about supposedly higher goals,” said ADV Managing Director Ralph Beisel. “It is a malicious intrusion into air traffic and into the personal rights of every traveler who cannot take their flight as planned.”
Protests of the last generation often led to conflicts between activists and passers-by. Last year Woman in Germany was dubbed a “brutal blonde” by European media after she dragged a climate activist out of a traffic blockade in Bottrop, Germany.
Recordings showed the The woman grabbed the activist by her hair and dragged her to the side of the road. When the girl returned to block the road, the German woman dragged her by her hair a second time.
