Three activists from the environmental group Futuro Vegetal entered runway 32R of the Madrid Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas airport at 6 in the morning this Friday and glued their hands to the asphalt.
They have done so with the aim of preventing air traffic and denouncing at the same time that “no political party” is presenting “measures up to the task” to face the “climate crisis” for the general elections on Sunday.
From Aena, the airport manager, they point out that after detecting them “by an Aena signalman, the control tower has been notified immediately and technicians from the company and the Civil Guard have intervened to avoid any affectation.” Air controls through their Twitter account have also reported the incident.
The Civil Guard explains that “crimes of public disorder and damage to air safety are attributed to them.” Specifically, they have broken a perimeter fence to access the track.
Said police force also comments that “the activists will be brought before the courts throughout this Friday, once the investigation of the appropriate proceedings by the Civil Guard is completed.”
The activists have “evaded” airport security to access the runway. They carried with them a banner with the slogan ‘The United People works without a party’, according to a statement released by Futuro Vegetal.
This group carried out similar protests at the Ibiza airport last week and previously at the El Prado museum. In the latter case, they stuck to Goya’s “Las majas” last November. Previously, they had also done a lot of graffiti against bank branches.
From Aena they point out that according to Law 21/203 on air safety, this action supposes an infraction against the safety of civil aviation, with which it can be classified as serious or very serious, and the administrative sanction can range between 45,001 and 225,000 euros.
With this protest action, the collective intends to make an “appeal” to the population so that, regardless of the result of the elections on July 23, “organize to face the worst consequences of the Climate Crisis.”
Futuro Vegetal thus expresses its “concern” about elections in which “no political party” proposes “measures commensurate with the threat” of climate change.
“It is clear that not all parties are the same, but also that only organized society can promote the changes we need to have a habitable territory,” they point out.
A statement in which Futuro Vegetal also blames -without giving names- “certain politicians” for having “openly denialist positions”, although it also criticizes that “others” give a “false sensation” that they take the climate crisis “seriously”, since their proposals, they regret, are limited to being “mere reforms” that only reinforce “the system that has brought about this situation”.
According to the collective, their campaign is not aimed at positioning themselves in favor of abstention in the elections, but what they are asking for is “building in common”, overcoming differences and interests.
