By Eric King-
Flights have been canceled at London’s City airport after nine protesters from black lives matter UK got on th e runway.
The metropolitan police said 9 protesters erected a tripod on the runway and locked themselves together around 5.30 GBT this morning.
Seven were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass by 9.30 am, for being unlawfully airline and breaching the airports bylaws.
IMPACT
Representatives of the campaign gave conflicting accounts of the purpose of the campaign.
One said they carried out the protest to show the impact of air travel on the lives of black people locally and globally.
Another said the protest was aimed at highlighting the economic disparity between the users of the airport and the people who lived in East London where it is based.
“The average salary of a London City airport user is 136,000. It is designed for the wealthy. At the same time 40 percent of
Newham’s population struggle to survive on 20,000 or less”.
It added that “by 2020, there will be climate refugees globally. Whilst at London City airport, a small is able to fly, in 2016 alone, 3,176 migrants are known to have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean, fleeing conditions they did not create because cheaper, easier, and most importantly, safer avenues have been blocked by the UK and
other countries.
Black people are the first to die, not the first to fly in this racist climate “
DISRUPTIVE
The protest was so disruptive it was certainly disproportionate to any intended goal. Disrupting flights only serves to annoy the majority of the public, and does little to Actually address any real issues.
Strangely, all the protesters who had chained themselves across the runway were white. A number of passengers in the crowded lounge waiting at cheque in counters waited anxiously to find out what was happening to their flights.
Flights to Geneva, Milan, Luxembourg, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Zurich, Florence, Marjorca and Malaga were all canceled as a result of the disruption.
Flights to Dublin and Frankfurt were showing “indefinite delays”.