(London) Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined a march in the south of England on Saturday to protest against the use of private jets and the expansion of an airport.
Hundreds of local residents and activists holding banners and placards calling for a ban on private jets marched to Farnborough Airport, which mainly serves private planes. Some beat drums while others lit pink flares.
The airport, located in the county of Hampshire, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of London, applied last year to increase its maximum number of flights from 50,000 to 70,000 a year.
Groups fighting climate change, including the organizer of Saturday’s protest, Extinction Rebellion, say private jets are far more polluting than commercial airliners. Flights to and from Farnborough Airport carried an average of 2.5 passengers per flight in 2022, the group said.
“It is clear that private jets are incompatible with guaranteeing present and future living conditions on this planet,” Greta Thunberg said in a video published by Extinction Rebellion on social media.
“We are not going to let this continue. We are not going to let a few rich people, responsible for the majority of aviation emissions, get away with sacrificing people and the planet,” she added.
Farnborough Airport said it was an important hub for business and corporate travel, and recognized the importance of reducing its environmental impact.
“The airport’s environmental footprint is only a fraction of that of a traditional commercial airport, but it is one of the region’s largest employment sites,” he said in a communicated.
Greta Thunberg, 21, the Swedish environmental activist who inspired a global youth movement against climate change, is expected to appear in a London court next week to face a charge of breaching the peace. She had already been arrested in October, during a demonstration against a major oil and gas industry conference.
The young woman was one of the activists accused of trying to block access to the Energy Intelligence Forum. She denied the accusation.