London — A climate change protester climbed on top of a British Airways plane at London City Airport on Thursday as part of the latest in a series of demonstrations that have seen major roads and bridges blocked in the British capital for the past four days. Dozens of activists from Extinction Rebellion – the group behind the protests – tried to disrupt flights to and from the airport, which is largely used by business commuters.
“Oh man, I’m shaking… This is all about the climate and ecological crisis,” protester James Brown said from on top of the airplane. Brown, who is partially sighted and has won a bronze medal at the Parolympics, was later removed by firefighters and arrested. “They declare climate emergency and do nothing about it,” he said, according to Sky News.
Hundreds of people have been taken into custody in London since Monday, when activists began two weeks of planned protests for government action on climate change. Demonstrators have set up camps around the city, including near Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square.
“When the IPCC report came out a year ago now, I think I cried everyday, never stopped crying for three months,” Caroline, who works in a hospital, told CBS News. She was removed by police after blocking an entrance to the airport on Thursday.
“Action was the only way I can be at peace with myself and look at my children and feel like I’m doing everything I can to give you a future,” she said.
One protester made it on board a British Airways flight and forced it to return to the terminal Thursday, while dozens more blocked an entrance to the airport. After they were removed, some activists remained outside the building.
“We have no resilience. We have no plan B,” Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Mark Lopatin told journalists. “What we’re trying to show today by disrupting business as usual is that it simulates what’s coming.”
