LONDON: Several climate activists were arrested on Thursday after staging a protest at London’s Heathrow Airport, marking the latest disruption by the Just Stop Oil group targeting airports.
Police reported that seven people were arrested for blocking a “passenger search area” at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, although they noted that the disruption was “minimal.”
Just Stop Oil, which has organized or participated in at least four similar protests in July, claimed that 17 people were arrested in connection with the action, with seven at the airport and at least ten elsewhere.
A social media post by the group displayed several activists blocking entry gates inside Heathrow’s departure area, holding orange signs that read “oil kills” and “sign the treaty.”
The protests, organized by climate groups from across Europe under the “Oil Kills” coalition, are part of a campaign demanding that governments sign an international treaty to end the extraction and burning of oil, coal, and gas by the end of the decade.
Earlier this week, two Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested for defacing Heathrow’s departure walls and boards with paint, and eight others were arrested for blocking gates at Gatwick Airport, the UK’s second busiest.
Both Heathrow and Gatwick airports have previously secured court orders to prevent environmental activists from entering their premises.
