The EU is facing protests over climate-wrecking air policy – with France being a flashpoint

Residents’ groups and climate activists – including campaign group Stay Grounded – are calling on the EU and governments across Europe to cap air travel as part of two days of action across Europe.

EU: take action on air traffic

25 groups campaigning against Europe’s five largest airports have released a tribune (a document upholding people’s rights) calling for a capping of flights at airports, aerodromes and heliports below the 2019 level, in line with the historic decision taken at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

The tribune has been released ahead of two days of action taking place on 13 and 15 March. The groups are local residents groups and climate crisis activists campaigning against the five largest airports in Europe: Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow, Madrid Barajas, Frankfurt Airport, and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Research has shown these five airports emit more than the whole of Sweden.

Around 20 mobilisations will take place in France on 13 March to demand the Minister of Transport caps air traffic. Actions will happen in:

• Nice.
• Cannes-Mandelieu.
• Marseille.
• Lille.
• Beauvais.
• Bordeaux.
• Roissy.
• Orly.
• Toussus-le-Noble.
• Pontoise.
• Toulouse.
• Montpellier.
• Nantes.
• Aix-en-Provence.
• Saint-Etienne.
• Caen.
• Basel -Mulhouse.
• Rhône-Alpes.
• Villefranche-Beaujolais.
• Le Mans.
• Liège.

Following local actions, the associations will meet in Paris for a meeting at the Ministry of Transport on 15 March – an appointment confirmed by the minister’s office – which will be followed by a humorous musical event and speeches at 12:30pm. Actions will also be held in other European countries.

Concrete measures must happen

In the tribune, the groups also call for stronger curfews to be put in place at European airports.

The tribune states:

We, the victims of airport nuisance and present and future victims of global warming, call on our governments and on Europe to follow the necessary path opened up by the Netherlands by finally taking concrete measures: limiting and reducing the number of flights while ensuring that noise, air pollution and CO2 emissions are also brought down – and generalising curfews at airports, aerodromes and heliports.

According to predictions from the aviation industry we could see air traffic levels double by 2040. This would hugely threaten both the climate and the health of local residents.

“Aviation is the fastest way to fry the planet”, says Magdalena Heuwieser, spokesperson from the Stay Grounded network:

Taking one flight generates more emissions than many people around the world emit in an entire year. We need to urgently cap flights at airport level. The attempts at Schiphol airport to reduce the amount of flights and ban private jets and night flights need to be applied in Paris and other airports.

The tribune and actions have been organised by UFCNA and Stay Grounded. Read the full tribune here.

Featured image via wirestock – Envato Elements