Cargo flights were halted for around three hours at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle airport on Thursday morning due to a protest by climate activists from Last Generation.
A police spokesman said some protesters had grounded themselves in the southern part of the airport, adding that a helicopter was currently searching the area for more activists.
As a result of the action, cargo flights were halted for approximately three hours after midnight (2200 GMT on Wednesday), an airport spokesman said.
One of the two runways has now been reopened for use, but there may be delays to passenger flights due to the ongoing police operations, he added.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is the fourth largest air cargo hub in Europe, handling around 1.4 million tonnes of freight annually, according to the website.
According to Last Generation, the protest was intended to send a signal against increasing air traffic, planned expansion of airport capacity and the lack of a government plan to quickly phase out fossil fuels.
The climate group indicated in a message on the social media platform X that the blockade would mainly affect freight traffic.
Accompanying photos showed activists on the runway holding signs reading “Oil Kills,” and at least one person with his hands glued to the apron.
According to the climate activist group Oil Kills, five activists were glued to the runway.
Climate protesters disrupted air traffic at Frankfurt and Cologne-Bonn airports last week. As a result, Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, announced that it would take security measures.
