Climate protest at Frankfurt Airport forces a temporary halt to flights

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Flights at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest, were suspended temporarily Thursday as climate activists glued themselves to the ground inside the airport premises, authorities said. More than 100 flights were canceled.

Federal police said several demonstrators got into the airport in the early morning, German news agency dpa reported. The Last Generation group said six protesters cut holes in the perimeter fence and headed toward the runways on foot, bicycles and skateboards.

The airport said shortly before 8 a.m. that flight operations were “gradually resuming.” Shortly afterward, it said on social network X that all runways were back in operation.

It said that about 140 flights had been canceled so far — roughly one-tenth of the flights that were scheduled for Thursday.

It was the second time in as many days that a protest by Last Generation, which is demanding that the German government negotiate and sign an international agreement on a global exit from the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030, caused disruption at a German airport.

On Wednesday, five protesters glued themselves to a taxiway at Cologne-Bonn Airport, forcing a roughly three-hour halt to flights. That protest resulted in 31 flights being canceled. There were other protests or attempted protests in other European countries.

A string of airport protests in recent years have caused disruption to flights.

Last week, the German Cabinet approved legislation that would impose tougher penalties on people who break through airport perimeters.

The bill, which still requires approval by lawmakers, foresees punishment ranging up to a two-year prison sentence for people who intentionally intrude on airside areas of airports such as taxiways or runways, endanger civil aviation, or enable someone else to. So far, such intrusions can only draw a fine. A sentence of up to five years would be possible in some cases.