German climate activists disrupt cargo flights at Leipzig airport

Cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport in the early hours of Thursday due to a protest by Last Generation climate activists.

Some of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground in the airport's southern area, a police spokesman said, adding that a helicopter is currently searching the area for further activists.

As a result of the action, cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours after midnight (2200 GMT Wednesday), an airport spokesman said.

One of the two runways has since been cleared for use, but there may be delays to passenger flights due to the ongoing police operation, he added.

Leipzig/Halle Airport is the fourth largest air freight hub in Europe, handling some 1.4 million tons of freight annually, according to its website.

Last Generation said that the protest aimed to send a message against the increasing air traffic, the planned expansion of airport capacity and the lack of a government plan to quickly phase out fossil fuels.

The climate group said in a post on social media platform X that the blockade would primarily affect freight traffic.

Accompanying photos showed activists on the runway, holding signs that read "Oil kills," and at least one person with their hands glued to the tarmac.

According to climate activist group Oil Kills, five activists glued themselves to the runway.

Last week, climate demonstrators disrupted air traffic at Frankfurt Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport. As a result, Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, announced that it would take security precautions.