Airport activists from the Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate protection movement chained themselves up in Terminal 2 on Sunday to protest against short-haul flights. According to the airport police, the action was an unregistered demonstration. Six of the participants sat down on the floor in T2 on level 04 at 11 a.m. and chained themselves to each other and to luggage trolleys. "It was loud but quite peaceful," reports a police spokesman. Megaphones and musical instruments were used. The demonstrators were asked by the police to leave the terminal by 12.30 p.m. Nor did they offer any resistance to this.
In addition, activists had placed a large banner over the display board. "Come down! Nobody needs short-haul flights, ”it read. According to the police, there were never any hindrances to passengers or any danger. Since the action was not registered, legal action against participants would now be checked.
The XR activists wanted to be aware that the aviation industry continues to operate short-haul flights. These would make a significant contribution to Germany's carbon footprint, according to a press release from the organization. Like many other cities, Munich declared a climate emergency in 2019. Actions have been a long time coming. Among other things, this can be seen in the complete resumption of short-haul flights at Munich Airport after the Corona crisis. The particularly climate-damaging short-haul flights would make up 30 percent of the air traffic there, although these routes could also be covered more climate-friendly with a similar expenditure of time. “Kerosene remains tax-free and the future-hostile flight madness is still subsidized without any restrictions through billions in aid packages. So it is impossible to meet climate targets ”, says Susanne Egli. The problem is not just direct CO2 emissions, but also nitrogen oxides and water vapor in high layers of air, which contribute to the heating of the planet.