Climate change activists hope to disrupt flights at the second busiest airport in the world. A mysterious drone pilot caused chaos at nearby Gatwick Airport late last year.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Stillwell
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British climate activists will fly drones around Heathrow Airport in an attempt to shut it down, they announced on Thursday.
The group Heathrow Pause hopes to disrupt flights to protest against the expansion of the major aviation hub.
They will fly drones at head height, away from the runways, but within the restriction area of the airport.
"From the 13th September, we will exploit a loophole in Heathrow airport's health and safety protocols and fly toy drones within its restricted zone," the group said.
"It is our understanding that the airport's authorities will respond by grounding all flights," it said. "Drones will not be flown in flight paths and there will be no risk of harm to anyone," the group said in a statement.
The group plans to meet with authorities on Friday to discuss the plan. However, Heathrow has responded, saying the action is counterproductive.
"We agree with the need to act on climate change. This is a global issue that requires constructive engagement and action. Committing criminal offences and disrupting passengers is counterproductive," a spokesman for Europe's biggest airport said.
"The act of flying drones within 5km of an airfield is illegal because it carries risk. We will be working closely with the Met Police and other authorities to manage and mitigate any impacts this may cause."
Environmental activists in London and other cities have said they are ready to shift from disruption to dialogue. A look back at a week of loud and creative protests that brought parts of the UK capital to a standstill.
Image: Reuters/S. Dawson
Save Mother Earth!
Beginning April 15, protesters with Extinction Rebellion took to the streets of London and other cities to demand governments declare a climate and ecological emergency. They occupied key spots in the city, calling on those in charge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and set up citizens' assemblies on climate and ecological justice.
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Creative protests
Extinction Rebellion, founded last year by academics in the United Kingdom, is one of the world's fastest-growing environmental movements. Their aim is to protest climate change inaction in a creative and nonviolent way. Demonstrators say people are causing their own mass extinction, which is the basis of their "rebellion."
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Royal support?
Harry and Meghan, the duke and duchess of Sussex, didn't exactly take part in the sit-in on London's Waterloo Bridge on April 18. The royals are expecting and protesters used the happy event in their demonstration, having the couple "thank" Extinction Rebellion for saving their child's future.
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Stuck to the train
Activists have used a variety of unusual protest methods to draw maximum attention and get their point across. Throughout the week, they've blocked traffic, climbed atop buses and superglued themselves to buildings and, in the case of this young man at London's Canary Wharf station on April 17, trains.
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
Civil disobedience
The goal of the protests is to temporarily disrupt everyday life. As a result, police have arrested more than 800 people in London alone. Activists want to get the public on their side, but a YouGov survey showed that just 36% of more than 3,500 British polled support the protest, with 52% against.
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
Naked truth
Extinction Rebellion protesters first attracted global attention on April 1, during yet another heated Brexit debate in the British Parliament. A group of semi-naked activists revealed themselves in the visitor gallery with slogans including "SOS" and "Stop Wasting Time" written on their bodies, with some gluing their hands to a glass barrier. The scene was quickly broken up my security.
Image: Reuters/EXTINCTION REBELLION
Global movement
The Extinction Rebellion protests got their start in London, but the movement has also spread to other major cities around the world. On April 15, these activists on the Oberbaum Bridge in Berlin blocked traffic for hours.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
Switching tactics?
On April 21, organizers in London said they were willing to switch tactics and talk with the government. "We're giving them an opportunity now to come and speak to us," said spokesman James Fox. "If they refuse … then this is going to continue and this going to escalate in different, diverse and very creative ways."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/NurPhoto/R. Pope
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Gatwick chaos
An errant drone caused chaos at the nearby Gatwick Airport in December last year. Over three days, the constant reappearance of a drone within the airport airspace led to the cancellation or diversion of about 1,000 flights.
The group has ties to the Extinction Rebellion, a global effort to raise awareness of the global climate crisis.
One of the participants of the action, Valerie Milner-Brown, said in a statement she knew the stunt was illegal, but that action needed to be taken to stop what she termed the "catstrophic" impact of climate change.
"I am a law-abiding citizen — a mother and a grandmother too. I don't want to break the law, I don't want to go to prison, but right now we, as a species, are walking off the edge of a cliff.
"We have to cut emissions right now, or face widespread catastrophe on an increasingly uninhabitable planet. Heathrow Airport emits 18 million tons of CO2 a year. That's more than most countries. A third runway will produce a further 7.3 million tons of CO2.
"For all life - now and in the future - we have to take action. I'm terrified but if this is what it will take to make politicians, business leaders and the media wake up, then I'm prepared to take this action and to face the consequences," Milner-Brown added.
