Extinction Rebellion plans to blockade Heathrow Airport with drones Campaign group preparing to fly drones near the airport for 11 days

“Rebels will use a variety of nonviolent tactics to close down the airport” Extinction Rebellion

Extinction Rebellion activists plan to cause chaos for holidaymakers by flying drones near the runways of Heathrow Airport for up to 11 days – a move the government warned could lead to life behind bars.

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The group threatened to shut down the airport using ‘nonviolent direct action’ on 18 June – and for up to 10 days from July 1 – unless the government cancelled plans for a third runway.

It is believed the group had planned to use drones, according to an internal document shared between activists on social media .

“If our demands are not met we will hold a planned picnic and drone session in the fields around Heathrow on June 18,” the document said.

Drones and roadblocks

But by Friday night, in the face of a mounting backlash at the drone threat, the group stressed they were “fully committed to nonviolence and will not take action that would put airline passengers at risk.”

They claimed their drone plans had been “misconstrued.”

The internal document stated: “Rebels will use a variety of nonviolent tactics to close down the airport including, but not limited to, flying of drones and blocking of public roads leading into the airport,” it continued.

Any action involving drones has the potential to cause chaos for travellers, with 1,300 flights containing 220,000 taking off and landing at Heathrow every day.

A drone sighting at Gatwick in December closed the airport for 33 hours in December, disrupting the journeys of about 140,000 passengers.

The following month, Heathrow called in the Armed forces and grounded departures for an hour after a separate drone sighting.

Heathrow response

A Heathrow spokesman said the proposal to shut down the airport was “reckless” and could endanger lives.

“We agree with the need to act on climate change, but that requires us to work together constructively – not commit serious criminal offences just as hard-working people prepare to spend a well-earned holiday with their family and friends,” he added.

Government response

Aviation minister Baroness Vere pledged to use “the full force of the law” against anyone flying drones near an airport.

“Using drones to deliberately put people’s safety at risk carries a maximum life sentence,” she warned.

A Metropolitan police spokesman added: “We will not allow illegal activities of some protesters to cause disruption and misery to thousands of travellers. We will be developing strong plans and will take firm action against any protestor seeking to cause disruption.”

Airport security chiefs could really struggle if Extinction Rebellion campaigners ignore these warnings and launch a sustained drone campaign, an expert said.

“Using drones to deliberately put people’s safety at risk carries a maximum life sentence,” Baroness Vere

“Gatwick was probably two drones. But the underlying question is: What do you do if you have multiple drones in multiple directions. They have not really got an answer for that,” said Professor Dunn, of the University of Birmingham.

He said arresting suspects ahead of the protests could be the most effective way to stop disruption – although with thousands of people involved in the group each person arrested may quickly be replaced by others.

Extinction Rebellion put climate change firmly on the agenda after bringing central London to a standstill in April, an action resulting in more than 1,000 arrests – making it the biggest single disobedience campaign in modern British history.

Extinction Rebellion: The co-founders

The movement prides itself on being decentralised and non-hierarchical but the most high profile member is probably Roger Hallam, 52, who is working on a PhD on civil disobedience at King’s College London.

One of three co-founders of Extinction Rebellion, Mr Hallam hit the headlines last month (MAY) after been cleared by a jury of charges relating to a protest in which he spray painted the walls of King’s with the words “divest from oil and gas”.

The decision is regarded by campaigners as a historic moment for the climate movement because Mr Hallam did not deny criminal damage worth £7,000, arguing instead that his actions were a proportionate response to the climate crisis.

Climate change legally ‘irrelevant’

The judge ruled that the climate change justification was “irrelevant”, saying it was not a case about the issue of global warming, but about damaging property and whether the defendants had a lawful excuse.

Despite the judge’s comments, the jury still cleared Mr Hallam – and his co-defendant David Durant – suggesting they had considerable sympathy for his cause.

The other two co-founders of Extinction Rebellion are Gail Bradbrook and her partner Simon Bramwell, who live in the Gloucestershire town of Stroud.

In an interview in April, Mr Bramwell dismissed suggestions by some media that Extinction Rebellion is a middle-class movement of privileged hippies: “I’m working-class. I have been a builder most of my life and every other job in between. My mum was a nurse, I grew up in a single-parent family. Gail grew up in the north and her father was a miner. She is as working-class as they come – she is just bloody bright,” he said.