Drone disruption? Climate activists to target London's Heathrow airport

(Reuters News, 29 Aug 2019) Activists say they will disrupt London's Heathrow airport with toy drones from Sept. 13, a step they hope will ground flights and increase pressure to cut Britain's carbon emissions.

British climate change activists said they would disrupt London's Heathrow airport with toy drones from Sept. 13, a step they hope will ground flights and put pressure on the government to take tougher steps to reduce carbon emissions.

Heathrow could mitigate the impact of the action, but flying drones would add to travel chaos at Europe's biggest airport in September, with strike action by British Airways pilots also planned.

The Heathrow Pause group said it would fly toy drones within a 5 km (3.1 mile) restricted zone around the airport but outside the flight paths of the airport, a step the group said would force the airport to ground flights.

"This is a symbolic action, using a legal loophole and participants' self-sacrifice to draw attention to the most serious and urgent crisis humanity has ever faced," the group said.

"The government's inaction on climate change, and the looming catastrophe of airport expansion, gives us no choice and compels us to act."

Heathrow Pause, a splinter group of the climate activism group Extinction Rebellion which has disrupted London with high profile action this year, said it would fly drones at no higher than head level and give the airport one hour's advance notice.

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Reuters News, 29 Aug 2019: Drone disruption? Climate activists to target London's Heathrow airport