More than 100 flights canceled in Germany as climate activists target airports across Europe

Germany's busiest airport in Frankfurt has resumed operations after hundreds of flights were suspended because of a climate protest. Activists broke through a fence at Frankfurt airport and glued themselves to the tarmac. Police detained eight people, and politicians are calling for tighter security.

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[henriwolbrink]

Sue the ORGANISATION for all the damages. Starting by blocking their accounts.

[joshtaylor]

This makes me have less faith in airport security....

[MT-ysju]

Goes to show how easy it is to gain access to the airport. They could have been terrorists. This should be taken very seriously and these activists should be sentenced very heavily.

[bigk]

If they want to change the world, they must bring solutions, not more problems, it's easy to sit down on roads and do nothing

[The-Real-Ando]

Is there any fossil fuel used in making the glue? How did they get to the airport? I hope they walked to the airport if not then they are no ‘better’ than the rest of us.

[YesOfcourse-fhxd]

What solutions are they offering? They should focus their energy on giving us a better source of energy, in that case, I would support them, otherwise it's plain stupidity

[CreRay]

It's the same people who are protesting when Tesla wants to extend their factory. It's the same people who protest if wind mills are being put up. It's the same people who protest when solar panels are being installed. It's the same people who cry out "This is not the solution!" when successful, electric trucks are being developed. Are they really about the environment, or something else? I will agree on the air travel industry seemingly escaping any CO2 tax or other limitations, flying is quite simply too cheap.

[low_mu_motorsports]

Hope that glue was vegan and biodegradable

[Rebelliouusnesss]

Ridiculous, if you want change, don't disrupt others, it just makes you look worse

[deep.space.]

What is the fuel consumption of all the flights put on holding pattern attributable to this activist protest, and idle engines on taxiways awaiting takeoff, planes stuck on the tarmac with their air conditioning powered not by ground power unit but by jet fuel, and then having to head back to the gate using their engines?

[Dany-zs]

So they get arrested and prison sentences hopefully.

[ronaldmarcks]

Evidently, all you need is the tag "activist" to be permitted to ignore laws and determine for yourself mankind's best directions. That's as silly as one self-interested individual declaring mankind's priority should be to make humans an interplanetary species.

[Ros-co]

Get the snow plows to scrape them off❤

[michaelyun]

lol since they glue themselves, air port should help but fine them more super glue and make sure they are stuck on the road for good. So they can’t even move if they want to. Leave them there for a few days and see if they change their mind

[HZAres]

selfish attention mongers, what if there was a life urgent delivery?

[jimisru]

Tighter security? The earth just had two record breaking temperatures. Hotter than in 100, 000 years. You're toast.

[karlcastor]

They want to cut oil, gas, and coal by 2030. 😂
I hope they understand that there will be no heat in th winter. They can try first and then we can talk again. Wood is cheeting.

[bockusd]

Plane vs Protester, I wonder how that would turn out.

[felipe-vibor]

That's a serious breach of international security

[deadpixeL.]

Lets determine the carbon footprint when each round trip on an Airbus A220-300 is cancelled from munich to paris, forcing 150 passengers to drive in 150 seperate cars.

To determine which mode of travel—flying on an Airbus A220-300 or driving 150 cars—has a larger carbon footprint for a round trip from Munich to Paris, we need to calculate and compare the emissions from each option.

Calculations

1. Distance:
- The approximate distance from Munich to Paris is around 840 kilometers one way, so the round trip would be about 1, 680 kilometers.

2. Flight Emissions:
- The Airbus A220-300 has a fuel efficiency of about 2.51 liters per 100 kilometers per seat.
- For 150 passengers, fuel consumption = \( \left(\frac{2.51 \text{ liters}}{100 \text{ km}} \times 1, 680 \text{ km}\right) \times 150 = 6, 327.6 \text{ liters} \).

- Aviation fuel emits about 2.5 kg of CO2 per liter.
- Total emissions for the flight = \( 6, 327.6 \text{ liters} \times 2.5 \text{ kg/L} = 15, 819 \text{ kg} \) of CO2.

3. Car Emissions:
- Assuming an average car emits about 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
- For one car over 1, 680 km = \( 120 \text{ g/km} \times 1, 680 \text{ km} = 201, 600 \text{ grams} = 201.6 \text{ kg} \) of CO2.

- For 150 cars (since each of 150 people drives their own car), total emissions = \( 150 \times 201.6 \text{ kg} = 30, 240 \text{ kg} \) of CO2.

Comparison
Flight Total CO2: 15, 819 kg
Driving Total CO2: 30, 240 kg

Percentage Difference
To find the percentage difference in emissions between driving and flying:
\[
\text{Percentage Difference} = \left(\frac{30, 240 - 15, 819}{15, 819}\right) \times 100 \approx 91.2\%
\]
This calculation shows that driving emits about 91.2% more CO2 than flying the same number of people on this route.

Driving 150 cars from Munich to Paris and back generates significantly more CO2 emissions than flying 150 passengers on an Airbus A220-300 round trip on the same route. Thus, from an environmental perspective, traveling by plane in this scenario would be less damaging to the environment than each person driving their own car.

Forcing people to travel via car to make a statement about climate change, in this context, would not make sense in terms of reducing CO2 emissions. This comparison illustrates that air travel, especially on more efficient planes and with full passenger loads, can be more eco-friendly than many assume, particularly compared to many individuals driving separate vehicles over long distances vs the same number of people on a jet liner.