In a new affront to aviation safety and security, two environmental activists from the group Futuro Vegetal infiltrated the airside perimeter of Madrid-Barajas airport on Friday morning, adhering their hands to the asphalt of one of the runways to impede air traffic.
Madrid-Barajas was the 15th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in the world in 2022, and the 5th in Europe.
The activists carried a banner with the slogan «The united people function without a party», a message that, as they detailed in a statement, aims to urge people to «organize to face the worst consequences of the Climate Crisis,» regardless of the outcome of the upcoming elections.
Futuro Vegetal expressed their concern for what they consider a lack of robust measures by political parties to address the climate crisis. According to the group, «no political party is proposing measures commensurate with the threat posed by the Climate Crisis.»
The group also highlighted the difference between parties, pointing out that some have «openly denialist positions» but criticized those that create a «false impression that they are taking the Climate Crisis seriously.» They stated that the proposals of the latter «only reinforce the system that has brought us to this point.»
Nevertheless, the group clarified that their protest «is not a campaign in favor of abstention.» Instead, they call on society to transcend «disputes among equals» and work together to build a sustainable and equitable world.
Finally, Futuro Vegetal called for all of the population to support a «change in the agri-food system that allows us to mitigate the worst scenarios of the Climate Crisis.» They emphasized the need for people to organize and not rely solely on institutional actions: «We need to organize ourselves to make it possible without waiting for institutions to act.»
Last week, members of the same group infiltrated Ibiza airport and vandalized a private jet.
