Thousands of passengers have been stranded at London City Airport today (September 6) as protestors gained access to the runway. The protestors, from the Black Lives Matter UK movement, said the action was taken to highlight the environmental impact of air travel on the lives of black people locally and globally.
The incident happened around 5:00am this morning after nine protestors erected a tripod on the runway and locked themselves to the structure. Outbound flights were delayed because of the incident, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in the passenger terminal. Inbound flights were diverted.
London City Airport tweeted after the event saying that the runway had reopened around lunchtime and that flights were resuming. However, travelers are still facing lengthy delays as the airport tries to resume normal operations.
The incident has triggered concerns about perimeter security at London City Airport.