Edinburgh student leads Stansted protest

An Edinburgh student was at the centre of Monday’s Plane Stupid protest at Stansted Airport in London, which saw 57 people arrested for cutting through the perimiter fence and obstructing the runway.

Lily Kember, 21—a third year antropology student at the University of Edinburgh—was part of the group whose actions resulted in 56 flight cancellations, delaying thousands of passengers.

"Being arrested is a terrifying prospect, but not nearly as terrifying as the threat of climate change," Ms Kember told The Guardian after being detained.

Climate change activists Plane Stupid claim that in addition to rasing the profile of their campaign, the protest has had a measureable impact in the fight to reduce carbon emissions, stating that each cancelled flight from Stansted would have released on average 41.85 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.

Breaching the airport fence at 3.15am, the protesters—wearing high-visibility jackets emblazoned with the slogan "Please DO something"—carried barriers of the kind used to seal construction sites with them onto the runway.

Using metal security fencing brought for the purpose, they erected a barricade around their sit-in, and unfurled a banner reading "Climate Emergency."

"We're here because our parents' generation has failed us and its now down to young people to stop climate change by whatever peaceful means we have left,” Ms Kember said in a statement published on the Greenpeace website.

“We're afraid of what the police might do to us, we're afraid of going to jail but nothing scares us as much as the threat of runaway climate change.

“We've thought through the consequences of what we're doing here but we're determined to stop as many tonnes of CO2 as we can."

By 9am, police had arrested and removed all the protesters, and flights were able to resume. However, some passengers were forced to wait throughout Monday for replacement flights to carry them onward to their destinations.

The short-haul carrier Ryanair, which relies on Stansted as a connecting airport for its budget European operations, was the worst affected by the protest, with all cancellations affecting the carrier; other airlines were forced to institute delays.

The low-cost airline has called for an inquiry to investigate “why the BAA Stansted security has once again failed to keep Stansted secure and open to the travelling public.”

Plane Stupid has a relatively high profile amongst the numerous anti-climate change activist groups lobbying against airport expansion and low-cost air travel; earlier this year, protesters from the organisation caused a security alert by climbing onto the roof of the Houses of Parliament. The group also participated in last summer’s Camp for Climate Action at London Heathrow Airport.

Speaking during the protest, Ms Kember told ITN News journalists that “it's a bit cold, but everyone is in good spirits.”

Plane Stupid have since alleged that BAA, the operators of Stansted, used a snowplow to ram the protesters, and have published footage on their website to support the claim.

Stansted, in Essex, is the subject of ongoing controversy regarding plans to build a second runway to alleviate pressure at London’s other congested airports.

The Plane Stupid protest was applauded by Hacan, the group opposing expansion at Heathrow. Chairman John Stewart said: "The occupation of Stansted is a clear sign of things to come if the government doesn't back down over its proposals to expand airports.

"There is a great deal of anger at the impact these plans will have on the global climate and on local people's quality of life."

However, aviation industry representatives were quick to respond, citing extensive efforts to limit the effects of air travel on the environment in recent years. Matthew Knowles, spokesman for the Society of British Aerospace Companies, said: "These protesters are ignoring the reality around aviation and climate change.

“Flight numbers have increased at Stansted but noise nuisance around the airport has actually decreased and aircraft are 70 per cent more fuel efficient than they were 50 years ago.

"The industry has also set itself targets for a further 50 per cent cut in noise and CO2 emissions from 2000 levels in new aircraft by 2050. It is time these ill-informed protests stopped."

It is not known whether the University of Edinburgh will seek disciplinary action against Ms Kember; under university rules, any student can be removed for “bringing the university into disrepute.”