Chained airport protesters held

Chained airport protesters held
Climate change protesters who chained themselves to the gates of a private airport have been arrested.
Police said 10 demonstrators at Biggin Hill Airport, in south London, were being held under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.

The group said they were voicing their opposition to the growth in the number of people using private jets.

They blocked the passenger entrance, but an airport spokesman said flights had been running on schedule.

At least six people had to be cut free by police before being arrested.

Richard George, spokesman for the group, said it was a protest against the super-rich who had their own planes and were not trying to cut their harmful emissions.

"(They are) saying they will not only continue to fly, but they will fly in the most carbon inefficient way possible," he said.

Mr George stressed that the group had no plans to prevent passengers flying out of Heathrow at the weekend.

Passengers diverted

"This is not the sort of thing that will be happening at Heathrow. We have no intention of shutting down Heathrow. That is a very different situation," he said.

A spokesman for Biggin Hill Airport said: "All our flights are going in and out as scheduled."

He added: "Passengers are being diverted to a different entrance and there is no disruption to services which are operating as usual."

Ch Insp Mick Dod said: "We asked them to go and they have declined."

He said although the protest was peaceful it was still against the law.

About 18 climate protesters are also demonstrating at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire.

Biggin Hill Airport was a busy RAF airbase in the Second World War, and became a civil council-owner airport in the 70s, but is now used by business aviation operators who fly executive clients to London.

About 40 flights arrive at or depart from the airport each day.