Heathrow Airport travel chaos as Extinction Rebellion block roads in Boris Johnson protest
EXTINCTION Rebellion are conducting a mass bicycle convoy along the A4 artery towards Heathrow today, blocking traffic and causing intense congestion whilst en route to the UK's busiest airport to partake in a "mass lie-in".
Extinction Rebellion cycle on A4 in Heathrow expansion protest
Extinction Rebellion are blocking access to Heathrow Airport along the A4. They have annoucned on twitter, "We made an actual cycle superhighway on M4 to bring Boris Johnson a message: Keep your word - scrap Heathrow expansion. For the people of Uxbridge, for life".
The climate activists are descending on Heathrow Airport with a makeshift “bulldozer” as they plan to stage a “lie in” protest.
They have filmed themselves cycling to the transport hub en masse by pedal bike as they plan to protest a third runway this afternoon.
A group of cyclists are shown taking up several lanes of a busy road near the airport sporting XR flags, spearheaded by a yellow “bulldozer” tricycle.
The demonstration forms part of Extinction Rebellion’s 12 Days of Crisis campaign in the final days of the election campaign, as activists pressure politicians to sign up to their three demands.
In a tweet on Sunday morning, the group’s London branch said: “Boris Johnson said he'd block Heathrow airport expansion by lying in front of the bulldozer.
“He's an MP, he could have blocked it in parliament. He didn't. Now the bulldozer's coming.”
The XR cyclists set off from Hyde Park corner at 10.30am, planning to block the Cromwell Road junction in Earls Court at 11am, Hammersmith at 11.30am, Gunnersbury roundabout under the M4 flyover at 12 noon,
They plan to arrive at Heathrow's Bath Road, above Tunnel Road roundabout, at 1.30pm.
Some twitter users are enraged, others are champioing the cause of the movement with comments such as, "What a cheery sight this is! Good luck with your action today."Bikes against bulldozers is going strong!"
Extinction Rebellion have announced the following on twitter: "Bikes against bulldozers is going strong!
"100s of cyclists and ‘deconstruction’ workers now en route to Heathrow for mass lie in.
"We must actnow to stop airport expansion and yet MORE CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere."
One twitter user said: “If we all rode bikes instead of driving cars we'd change the world."
Another said: "Just look at a typical day on FlightRadar24 to see how crowded our skies are! It's scary!"
This news comes amid reports the Brexit Party and Conservatives and their MPs have received donations worth £8m from the aviation industry, according to new analysis.
The boss of a jet fuel company who regularly donated to the Tories over a decade has given the Brexit Party £5.2m in the past six months, figures show.
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Figures dating back over the past 18 years show that the Conservatives have accepted £2.8m from businesses and individuals linked to airlines.
Political parties and individual politicians have received gifts worth more than £9m in total, the analysis by DeSmog found.
Airports, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have made hundreds of contributions, either in cash or to cover MPs’ travel and airport parking costs, since the Electoral Commission’s online political finance database listings begin in 2001.
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Boris Johnson has been invited to join the protest.
In a Prime Minister’s Questions session in October, he said: "As for the Heathrow third runway, it remains the case that I have lively doubts about the abilities of the promoters of that scheme, as I think he does, to meet standards of air quality and of noise emissions.”
In June, Heathrow Airport published its “masterplan” which included the aim of constructing a third runway by 2026.
Heathrow will submit final plans for scrutiny by inspectors at a planning inquiry next year.
One twitter user said: "Protest activity at Heathrow Airport, East Ramp closed."
more to follow...