57 environmental protesters brought widespread disruption to Stansted Airport this morning, hours after Climate Change Secretary Miliband Two called for world action to protect the environment.
The protesters from campaign group Plane Stupid occupied a taxiway 50 metres from the main runway, chaining themselves to concrete blocks to draw attention to the aviation industry’s 13% contribution to total UK carbon dioxide emissions, and bringing chaos to the air travel industry for five hours before they were removed.
Delay-hit passengers said they were generally sympathetic to the issue of climate change, but said they would rather their own flights had left on time, all things considered.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my children to grow up on a toxic, barren, dying planet,” said one impatient traveller. “But I also don’t want to sit around here twiddling my thumbs when I could be shopping in Paris. Why can’t they just take off anyway? One or two protesters sucked into a turbofan is a price worth paying for my God-given right to buy things in the European capital of my choice.”
Miliband Two later issued a statement clarifying his position on climate protests.
“When I told the papers I wanted to see a global mass-protest movement to pressure world leaders into tackling climate change, what I meant was that campaigners should go to China or India and politely wave the odd placard or two at their politicians,” he intoned. “I certainly don’t condone inconsiderate actions like this, which aim to upset decent British people by suggesting that the ruination of the world’s fragile environment may, in some way, be related to their privileged lifestyles.”
A spokesman for Stansted operators BAA reassured travellers that the airport was rapidly returning to normal levels of service and pollution.
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