Extinction Rebellion Protester Halts London City Flight After Boarding Jet

(Bloomberg) -- Flights from London City airport were disrupted Thursday after a climate activist staged a protest on board an aircraft bound for Dublin and a second climbed on top of a British Airways plane.

In the first incident, a man apparently holding a valid ticket took his seat on the CityJet Ltd. aircraft before becoming disruptive, while in the second a booked passenger scaled the BA jet from the top of the boarding stairs, a spokesman for the airport said. Both were removed.

London City is the latest location in the U.K. capital to be targeted by Extinction Rebellion activists, who called on people to shut the airport by blocking the entrance. Operations were initially unaffected, with police holding back at least 100 protesters and allowing nobody into the terminal without a boarding pass.

Passengers on the CityJet aircraft, operating under a lease arrangement as Aer Lingus Flight 283, left the plane at the request of the captain before being allowed to board again, the spokesman said. Images from the BAE Systems Plc Avro RJ85 aircraft showed a man being led away by police.

Aer Lingus, the Irish arm of IAG SA, said in a statement that he’d been taken off for “disruptive behavior on board” and that a full security check was subsequently carried out. The flight left about 1 1/2 hours late at 11:16 a.m.

The airport said it was investigating the incident concerning the BA plane to “ensure the safe and secure continuation of service.” The aircraft concerned, an Embraer 190 due to fly to Amsterdam, was taken out of service for checks amid concerns the man may have tried to glue himself to the fuselage. Passengers were booked onto alternative flights, the airline said.

Protesters also crowded the walkway from the nearby light-rail station and sat on the road outside the airport, while two managed to access the roof. One activist said at least four people had been arrested.

London City, favored by business travelers because of its easy links to the main financial district, said it remains open and operational, with 55 flights having arrived and 58 departed as of 12:15 p.m. People should check the status of their flight before heading to the airport, it said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Jasper in London at cjasper@bloomberg.net;Olivia Konotey-Ahulu in London at okonoteyahul@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas, John Bowker

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