Extinction Rebellion threatens to use drones to shut down Heathrow airport for up to 10 days

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is considering using drones to shut down London’s Heathrow Airport this summer, a spokesperson for the group said.

The climate change activists plan to use nonviolent direct action to close Europe’s busiest airport as part of a campaign against plans to build a third runway there.

XR announced on Thursday that it would carry out a protest on 18 June to “create a ‘pause’ in recognition of the genocidal impact of high carbon activities, such as flying, upon the natural world”.

If its demand for the government to cancel all Heathrow expansion is not met, the group plans to try to shut the airport for up to 10 days from 1 July.

Heathrow described the proposed action as “reckless” and potentially dangerous.

The use of drones, which Reuters reported was proposed in an internal document written by volunteers, would be a significant escalation of XR’s tactics.

In April, the group mobilised thousands of protesters in a peaceful civil disobedience campaign in central London that brought parts of the city to a standstill.

Members of Extinction Rebellion Youth, a group which acts with some autonomy from the main organisation, protested at Heathrow Airport at the start of the Easter bank holiday weekend but said it never planned to disrupt flights.

In the internal proposal, activists said they would avoid risking passengers’ safety by informing the authorities of their plans in advance.

On Thursday, XR wrote that it was consulting with members over the proposed action.

“This is not about targeting the public, but holding the government to their duty to take leadership on the climate and ecological emergency,” XR wrote in a statement.

“The addition of the planned third runway would make Heathrow the single biggest carbon emitter in the UK; to expand the airport at this critical point in history would be madness.”

In June 2018, parliament backed a plan to build a £14bn third runway at the airport, despite opposition from local communities and environmentalists.

The proposed action at Heathrow is likely to divide opinion within the movement, with some fearing that disrupting travel plans may alienate large numbers of people.

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said: “This is reckless action that if carried out could endanger the lives of the travelling public and our colleagues.

“We agree with the need to act on climate change, but that requires us to work together constructively – not commit serious criminal offences just as hardworking people prepare to spend a well-earned holiday with their family and friends.”

As XR is a self-organising, decentralised group, it is hard to predict whether the proposal to use drones will win enough support from members.

British security forces have been on alert over the use of drones since December, when Gatwick Airport was forced to cancel flights due to reports of drone sightings near the runway.

The disruption caused approximately 1,000 flights to be diverted or cancelled entirely and affected around 140,000 passengers.

Additional reporting by agencies