Extinction Rebellion eco-warriors to shut down Heathrow Airport with pink DRONES for over two weeks
MILLIONS of passengers face fresh travel hell this autumn as Extinction Rebellion eco-warriors plan to stop flights at London Heathrow with drones.
The protest group will organise "day after day" of chaos across two weeks at Europe's biggest airport in a bid to disrupt flights, a leaked document reveals.
The document, seen by Huffington Post, said: "There is the opportunity to transform the humble drone into a David which allows us to stop the Goliath of Heathrow and the global aviation industry from destroying us".
The climate change group is furious at the government plans to build a third runway at Heathrow.
Extinction Rebellion had previously shelved plans to fly drones over Heathrow after describing accusations it wanted to endanger life as a “predictable smear”.
However it has now decided to go ahead and use drones but away from the airport's designated flight paths to ensure "non violent action".
Protesters also propose setting up a "hotline" to cops and telling police two months in advance of their plans.
The proposed action would see hundreds of activists work in shifts to fly small “toy” drones at head height across designated areas in Heathrow’s vicinity, within a three mile no-drone zone.
Those who fly the drones would then contact police after their "shift" to request detention.
They said the drones, that weigh less than 7kg, can be painted "pink, given names and personalised".
Extinction Rebellion confirmed the document was real.
Around 219,000 passengers use Heathrow on an average day, meaning the planned 16 days of action could affect more than 3.5 million travellers.
The protest group's plans follows chaos caused by drones at London Gatwick in December, when sightings resulted in 1,000 flights being grounded.
FLYING DRONES
In a statement Heathrow Airport said: "We agree with the need to act on climate change and have invited members of Extinction Rebellion to meet with us.
"This is a global issue that requires constructive engagement and action. Committing criminal offences and disrupting passengers is counterproductive.
“The act of flying drones within 5km of an airfield is illegal because it carries risk.
"We will be working closely with the Met Police and other authorities to manage and mitigate the impacts if this activity goes ahead.”
Laurence Taylor, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, has previously said: "There is speculation that protesters will use drones in order to disrupt business at Heathrow," said
"I want to be absolutely clear that anyone caught illegally using a drone can expect to be dealt with in line with the law".
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Extinction Rebellion is calling for greater acknowledgement from the Government of the problem of climate change, and a move towards a zero-carbon economy by 2025.
They have urged ministers to declare a climate emergency to avoid what it calls a "sixth mass extinction" of species on Earth.
Protests in Parliament Square, Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch led to road closures and traffic gridlock for 10 days in April.
More than 1,000 people were arrested after campaigners glued themselves to DLR trains and parked a boat in the middle of Oxford Circus.
Last week the UK passed a law that will require the country to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
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