Lufthansa to file multimillion-pound lawsuits against climate activists

Climate activists are resorting to increasingly serious actions. Paralyzing airports or glueing themselves to highways has become a daily occurrence. Environmental activists are doing everything to draw the attention of politicians and society to global warming. Their actions often meet with criticism, and it's hard to blame the critics—some protests cause multinational companies to suffer multimillion-pound losses. As a result, activists regularly appear in court, where they are sued for causing disruptions.

On 25 July 2024, Last Generation activists blocked Frankfurt Airport in Germany. They announced their action in a post on platform X. The activists wrote: "The continued extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal poses a threat to our existence. We have joined forces internationally. Get rid of fossils by 2030".

The actions of Last Generation prompted a reaction from one of the largest airlines. Lufthansa decided to sue the activists for causing disruptions. According to the newspaper "Bild", the airline expects multimillion-pound compensation. German media report that the activists caused several hours of flight service interruptions, resulting in over 160 flights being cancelled. Planes that were supposed to land in Frankfurt were redirected to Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, and Stuttgart.

The editorial team of "Bild" reports: "In the meantime, many passengers missed their connecting flights, and Lufthansa planes could not take off on scheduled routes". A Lufthansa spokesperson announced that the airline would file many millions of pounds of lawsuits. The court notifications are set to concern activists who blocked Frankfurt Airport.