Plane Stupid Scotland shuts Aberdeen airport - 9 arrested
3.3.2009 (BBC and Plane Stupid)
Protesters who barricaded themselves inside a "wire fortress" on the tarmac at Aberdeen Airport have been taken into custody.
Seven members of the campaign group Plane Stupid were detained at about 0820 GMT after releasing themselves.
Two other protesters, who remained on the roof of the main terminal building, were detained later.
Flights were stopped after the protest began at about 0315 GMT but resumed at about 0900 GMT.
A Grampian Police spokesperson said: "All nine people, five of whom are males and four of whom are females, have now been taken into police custody and the incident has been resolved peacefully.
"Grampian Police are currently working with the BAA to minimise the impact this incident has had.
"An investigation into the incident is currently ongoing at the moment and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course. As such it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."
Airport operator BAA said there was likely to be some knock-on disruption during the course of the day and passengers were asked to check the status of their flight.
Flights to Heathrow, Paris and Amsterdam were among those delayed by the protest.
A number of offshore helicopter movements, which had also been disrupted, began at about 0800 GMT.
Plane Stupid said its protesters had dressed in the style of property tycoon Donald Trump, who is backing the expansion of the airport after his plans to build a luxury golf resort in the area were approved.
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They draped a banner across the front of the terminal building, close to the BAA Aberdeen sign, which said "Nae Trump games with climate change".
During the protest, Dan Glass from Glasgow said: "We're here to say the expansion cannot happen, and our generation won't let it happen."
Protester Tilly Gifford, 24, also from Glasgow, spoke to BBC Scotland from the helicopter taxiway, to the east of the main runway.
She said the demonstrators had set up a makeshift golf course within a fortified fence.
'Carbon emissions'
Ms Gifford said: "Four of the protesters have their necks locked to the fortified fence.
"We are trying to close down the airport. We can measure its success in terms of stopping carbon emissions.
"We are here to highlight that aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon emissions."
Ms Gifford said that all the protesters were Scottish residents and they were linked to the UK protest which has carried out similar action at airports in England.
Protesters broke through the perimeter fence |
A spokesman for Aberdeen Airport said: "This action is dangerous and highly irresponsible, not least because Aberdeen is one of Europe's busiest commercial heliports and a major transport centre for the north of Scotland, used by tens of thousands of people every day.
"There is no justification for this irresponsible action, which is deliberately calculated to delay and inconvenience the travelling public."
Aberdeen-based security expert Dr David Capitanchik said the breach showed that airports needed to be well defended.
He told BBC Scotland: "I think it probably is possible to protect Aberdeen Airport perhaps a little better and some thought needs to be put into that, I would say."
In December last year Plane Stupid activists caused disruption at Stansted Airport in Essex by occupying the runway.
3rd March - Nine young protesters from the climate action group Plane Stupid Scotland have this morning shut down Aberdeen airport by setting up a golf course on the taxiway. They have surrounded themselves with fortified security fencing whilst another group are occupying the roof of the terminal building and have unfurled a banner reading, “Nae Trump Games with Climate Change”.
The peaceful protest began at 02.15am this morning whilst the runway was closed. Plane Stupid aims to prevent the scheduled reopening of the runway at 5am. The group intends to maintain its blockade for as long as possible to prevent the release of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Photos available for download and media on our Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/planestupid. All photos licensed under Creative Commons.
The activists entered the runway by cutting the fence and scaled the roof climbing ladders. Dressed as Donald Trump, sporting wigs and golfing attire, with crazy golf clubs and balls, the group are ‘putting’ on the tarmac. The banner on the fencing erected by the group reads “Plane Stupid Scotland Golf Open 2009”.
Donald Trump is supporting the expansion of Aberdeen airport where his super-rich friends will arrive to play golf on his controversial golf course. BAA Aberdeen said they welcome Donald Trump's Golf Course. Like Alex Salmond, Trump wants to bulldoze over democratic opposition to environmentally damaging projects like airport expansion. Both Trump and BAA’s plans face fierce local opposition.
One of the activists on the taxiway, Jonny Agnew, 22, from Edinburgh, said:
“We have been failed by the generation of Donald Trump and Alex Salmond. Despite a catalogue of scientific reports warning them that they can’t keep on with aviation growth – even if that hinders their ability to jet in for a weekend of golf – they continue with disregard for all of us, who will end up dealing with the impacts of the climate crisis.”
He added:
“The reality is that our generation’s future is vanishing so that people like Donald Trump and his super-rich friends can jet into Aberdeen for a round of golf. The expansion of this airport just cannot go ahead."
Another, 24 year old Tilly Gifford, a social worker from Glasgow, said:
“Alex Salmond wants to let the Spanish shareholders of BAA, Donald Trump and his super-rich American friends concrete over Scotland and its efforts to stop runaway climate change.”
She added:
“Arctic ice is melting, the sea is already rising and experts warn the world’s rainforests could collapse. Our generation is already starting to feel these impacts as the warming kicks in so it’s obvious that it’s going to need to be us that urgently puts the brakes on expanding unnecessary airports.”
The campaigners chose to close Aberdeen after the Scottish government gave its backing to the expansion of capacity at the airport by 1.5 million passengers by 2015. Aviation is Britain's fastest growing source of emissions, already amounting to at least 13% of the UK's climate emissions.
With plans in the Scottish government’s ‘National Planning Framework’ for growth at Scottish airports including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen - as well as Heathrow and Stansted - experts from the Tyndall Centre for climate research say aviation policy alone will scupper any chance the UK has of hitting its climate targets.
25 year old Dan Glass, a community worker from Glasgow, said:
“We’re here to say it cannot happen, and our generation won’t let it happen. The scientists tell us we've got seven years to make emissions peak then drop, and if we fail, the people on this runway and their entire generation, and our children, willl live with the consequences. That's why we’re doing this.”
http://www.planestupid.com/content/plane-stupid-scotland-shuts-aberdeen-airport
(3rd March 2009)
Copyright AirportWatch, 2004