Black lives matter protest shuts down London City Airport

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Black lives matter protest shuts down London City Airport | Secret Flying

London City Airport was forced to cancel flights after Black Lives Matter protesters gained access to the runway.

 

On Tuesday, Black Lives Matter protesters gained access to the runway of London City Airport, causing disruptions throughout the day. The Metropolitan Police were called to the site at approximately 05:40 local time, after nine protesters erected a tripod and “locked themselves together” on the runway.

 

The police had to follow protocol and wait for a specialist team to safely remove the protesters which took six hours.

 

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an activist movement originating in the African-American community that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. Black Lives Matter UK first made the headlines in Britain when protesters brought road traffic to a standstill outside Heathrow Airport last month.

 

 

This particular protest at London City Airport, was to “highlight the UK’s environmental impact on the lives of black people locally and globally”. A statement released by the organisation said: “Whilst at London City Airport a small elite is able to fly, in 2016 alone 3,176 migrants are known to have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean. Black people are the first to die, not the first to fly, in this racist climate crisis.”

 

It has emerged that many of the London City Airport protesters are veteran climate change activists and their involvement in yesterday’s incident has led to accusations that the British offshoot of the Black Lives Matter movement has been hijacked by “middle-class white activists”.

 

Scotland Yard said it was investigating how the protesters gained access to the runway, including suggestions that they swam across the River Thames or used a boat.