More than 150 activists from the environmental organizations Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion have been arrested during an ongoing action in which an area used by private aircraft at Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport has been occupied.
Some 500 activists — according to Greenpeace — scaled the airport fences at around 1 p.m. and sat under several private jets to prevent them from taking off. Some have chained themselves to the aircraft while others rode bicycles along the runway, which remains blocked hours after the start of the protest action.
The Royal Dutch Military Police, which is responsible for security at Schiphol, has reported that it expects around 200 to be arrested in the end, according to Dutch public television NOS.
At 4 p.m. officers intervened more forcefully to forcibly remove the activists from their bicycles to arrest them. Greenpeace has expressed its «shock at the unnecessary violence» of the police forces and warned that one person was injured in the head during their arrest.
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has expressed outrage at the environmentalist action. «They think the rich and famous go to Ibiza,» but there are also medical flights and repatriations, argued an EBAA spokesman, Roman Kok, quoted by NOS. In that sense he has assured that a medical flight has had to be diverted because of the protest.
Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace have assured that no flights have been blocked on arrival. «We are in close contact with the authorities so that the necessary flights could move. According to the authorities, the runway has been available all day,» said the environmental organizations.
Kok explained that the pilot of the plane carrying a patient decided to divert because there were too many people in the area and «could not guarantee safety».
MEGA-POLLUTING» AIRPLANES
«We have grounded the mega-polluting private jets at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport together with Extinction Rebellion Netherlands. Private jets are the most polluting form of travel! Schiphol must stop polluting. Stopping unnecessary private jets is the first step,» Greenpeace Netherlands posted on its Twitter account.
A Greenpeace spokesperson quoted by NOS has stated that «the goal is that not a single private plane takes off today and we are going to stay as long as possible.»
Extinction Rebellion has assured that they have managed to stop «all private flights» from Schiphol’s «VIP terminal». «A private jet is the most polluting form of travel. 5 to 14 times more polluting than a ‘normal’ plane. Today we block these shitty flights together with Extinction Rebellion Netherlands. Our demand? No more private jets and ultra-short flights,» added Greenpeace.
Greenpeace had announced an «action» for Saturday, to which Schiphol director Ruud Sondag on Friday called on environmentalists to be «clean».
