Airports granted court orders banning protests

The court was told protests posed a safety risk to passengers

High Court injunctions banning environmental activists protesting at their sites have been issued to three UK airports.

Leeds Bradford Airport, London Luton Airport and Newcastle International Airport were all handed orders which forbid demonstrators from trespassing or causing a nuisance.

The lawyer representing the airports said activists from organisations such as Just Stop Oil (JSO) and Extinction Rebellion (ER) posed a serious threat to passengers and there was a "real and imminent risk of disruption".

It follows Heathrow Airport being granted a similar injunction last week.

The banning orders will last for five years and be reviewed every 12 months.

Timothy Morshead KC, representing the airports, said the sites were "more vulnerable" because of the added security measures around operations.

The court heard that another issue was the threat of protesters being able to walk out onto the runway due to their smaller facilities.

Unlike airports such as Heathrow, passengers sometimes walked out from the terminal to board their flight, adding to the risk a protest could occur near a plane.

Mr Morshead added that Leeds Bradford Airport had offered a space for protesters to gather.

However, the groups had so far not used it.

'Enormous cost'

The court was also told that JSO had threatened disruption.

Granting the injunctions, Mr Justice Ritchie said JSO and ER's "threats had a history of being seen through".

"JSO and ER have made good on their threats and have come at an enormous cost to the taxpayer and private financial expense, and disruption at oil terminals, roads, sports events and their threats potentially at airports," he added.

Following the ruling, a spokesperson for Leeds Bradford Airport said: "This injunction protects our passengers, staff and business partners and reduces the risk of disruption of passengers looking forwards to their holidays."

"We wholeheartedly support the decarbonisation of aviation and recognise that the right to protest is a fundamental and important human right.

"However, disrupting people's travel plans and causing potentially fatal safety risks with irresponsible action is not the way to deliver the transition to net zero."

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