German Airline demands $800,000 from climate activists as compensation

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
17 Dec 2023 10:40
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Lufthansa demands compensation from climate activists, who, through consistent protests for climate change at the airport, have imposed cancelations, delays, and reroutes of flights.

A Lufthansa aircraft lands at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP)

On Saturday, the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported the demands of German airline Lufthansa for compensation from climate activists, who, through consistent protests for climate change at the airport, have imposed cancelations, delays, and reroutes of flights. The airline has demanded 740,000 euros ($806,000) in compensation to counter the costs of the changes they had to make as a result.

The report stated that the activists at Hamburg and Dusseldorf airports on July 13 caused damages estimated at 400,000 euros and 220,000 euros, respectively. It was suggested that the activists should settle the compensation out of court. In the case of the Berlin airport protest in November 2022, losses were reported to be around 120,000 euros. The newspaper highlighted that five activists enlisted legal assistance, while one filed for a counter-lawsuit.

In light of the aforementioned events, German Digital and Transport Minister Volker Wissing said that the government mobilized to impose penalties for "blocking airports to disrupt their operations."

104 activists arrested in the Netherlands

In a similar incident in March, Dutch police arrested more than 100 environmental activists following their protests at the airport in the city of Eindhoven.

The national police posted on Twitter on Saturday, "The demonstration at Eindhoven Airport has ended. The [Royal Netherlands] Marechaussee and Police have arrested 104 people."

Members of the Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion groups blocked the entrance made for private jet departures at the Eindhoven Airport, in an attempt to call for a ban on private jets as they give off greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions more than a regular commercial plane.

Eindhoven airport released a statement expressing in response "that aviation, like other sectors, needs to (quickly) become more sustainable."

"We also feel that sense of urgency. It is partly for this reason that we are not pursuing growth for our air traffic, and instead are prioritizing the sustainability of existing air traffic," the airport said on its website.