May 5th, 2009
Southampton Airport Protestors Fined For Trespass
After chaining themselves to the entrance of Southampton airport in February, 6 of the 7 anti-aviation expansion protesters have admitted to aggravated trespass and fined a total of £2,000.
The demonstration was designed to focus attention on the human impact of climate change – it is estimated that rising sea levels will create approximately 2 million refugees by the year 2050. Given than Southampton is a coastal conurbation, this has particular resonance and adds another dimension to the arguments surrounding the plans to expand the airport.
BAA hopes to increase passenger traffic for Southampton Airport from 1.5 million passengers a year to 3 million by 2015. The planned expansion of Southampton airport, together with the 34 other regional airports in the UK, will do enough damage to the climate to force an estimated 1.3 million people in impoverished parts of the world to flee raising sea levels, flooding, drought and famine.
Pete Barker of Plane Stupid said “It’s crazy to imagine that we can tackle the serious threat posed by runaway climate change whilst still allowing airports to expand.”
To find out more about this and other anti-aviation campaigns visit: www.planestupid.com
