Heathrow Airport tunnel blocked by campaigners against third runway

Three climate change activists protesting against the building of a new runway at Heathrow have blocked off a tunnel to the airport, causing major delays.

The airport said police were dealing with a protest in a tunnel used by cars and taxis to access its terminals.

They held a banner quoting David Cameron’s election promise: “No Ifs, No Buts: No Third Runway”. “Five arrests have been made”.

However, in July 2015 the Airports Commission recommended the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, despite strong opposition from senior Conservatives such as Boris Johnson.

‘If aviation growth isn’t reduced, by 2037 aviation alone could emit all of the carbon it’s safe for the United Kingdom to emit.

But some local residents and climate change groups say expansion will bring additional noise and air pollution. They feel they have to.

“There’s already airport ability for families taking their annual vacation”. New runways only benefit the 15 per cent of flyers who take 70 per cent of our flights, cooking our planet.

“These are affluent regular leisure flyers”. We’ve tried every other alternative. We have been forced to be disobedient just to be heard.

Earlier this year the same group caused flight chaos when a dozen activists cut through the wire fence around Heathrow’s runway, and lay down on the tarmac covered with blankets.