Yesterday 50 protesters broke through the perimeter fences of Stansted Airport and causing flights to be cancelled and generally causing chaos. The protesters were making a stand against the government go ahead for a second runway at Stansted Airport. BAA want to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million and to increase flights from 241,000 to 264,000 a year.
The protesters were members of the climate action group Plane Stupid. Their website showed that the protest was aimed to bring attention to the CO2 emissions from the aviation industry. However, whilst they managed to create massive media attention in the UK it seems that their message may have been somewhat lost in the panic over the security breach at Stansted Airport. The media and public have been outraged at how easy it was for 50 protesters to break into the airport. Security officials for BAA pointed out that the protesters did not make it to the runway. They were also quick to point out that the runway is about 2000 acres in size making it difficult to protect in it’s entirety.
Passengers who were due to fly out of Stansted on 8th December were advised that their flights had either been severely delayed or cancelled. Most of the flights affected were Ryanair flights causing relations between the budget airline and BAA to become rather stretched. Passengers were angered and not at all impressed by Plane Stupid’s protest. Rather than highlighting the environmental issues with the aviation industry the protest angered most people. Those involved now face criminal proceedings.
On the plus side some media reports have highlighted the climate change issues surrounding the aviation industry. Ed Miliband, the UK’s Energy Secretary told the Guardian newspaper that world leaders need to act on climate change amid fears of economic repercussions. He said that there needs to be a ‘mass movement’ along the lines of the Make Poverty History campaign.
Matthew Knowles from the Society of British Aerospace Companies condemned the protesters saying that they were ignoring the changes that the aviation industry is making for climate change. He quoted that although flights have increased by 50% the noise disturbance around Stansted Airport has decreased and aircrafts are 70% more fuel efficient. Further cuts are due to made by 2050.
So, it would appear that rather than promoting the topic of climate change in a positive manner than protesters with their illegal protest have in fact angered the public and people within the aviation industry. This adds weight to the stereotype that people who care about the environment aren’t law abiding citizens and have a general disregard for the people whose lives they affect by their actions. The other side of the coin is that they might just have highlighted a massive security issue at Stansted Airport……
