As Paris Orly airport (ORY) resumed operations following an almost three-month-long interruption, activists of the Extinction Rebellion movement managed to invade the apron. As a consequence, the airport management reported that traffic was “briefly interrupted”.
Operations resumed on the morning of June 26, 2020, with a Transavia flight to Porto Airport (OPO), Portugal. But hours later, about 30 environmental activists of the Extinction Rebellion movement crossed the airport’s perimeter to invade the runways.
According to the airport operator Aéroports de Paris, the action “briefly interrupted” operations, but did not cause any major delay. The company will file a complaint.
The protesters demanded the interruption of all domestic flights in France. In April 2020, French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire announced that Air France would reduce its domestic network when passengers have a rail alternative that lasts less than 2 hours 30 minutes.
But for the activists, the measure is insufficient. “The government is communicating on the prohibition of some internal flights but at the same time it pours billions into the revival of the aeronautic industry,” denounces Extinction Rebellion. “We ask the government to immediately stop domestic flights for obvious security reasons: ensuring our survival on earth.”
https://twitter.com/xrFrance/status/1276434245288853509?s=20
The action took place briefly after a joint state aid plan was announced for the Air France-KLM Group that will see the Netherlands and France provide €10.4 billion in loans to alleviate the difficulties arising from the coronavirus crisis.