London Stansted Airport Runway Closed due to Protest
The runway at London's Stansted airport was temporarily closed on Tuesday after a protest organisers said was aimed at stopping deportations to Nigeria.
Eight inbound flights were diverted after the runway was closed at around 10:00pm (2100 GMT) "while police dealt with a number of individuals who had entered a remote area of the airfield", an airport spokesman said.
"The situation was quickly contained but the police carried out a full inspection of the airfield in advance of confirming it was safe to re-commence flight operations at 11:17pm," he added.
A video published on a "Stop Charter Flights - End Deportations" Facebook page showed a group of people lying next to a plane, chanting: "No borders, no nations, stop deportations".
The group claimed the Nigeria-bound flight had been cancelled as a result of their protest.
Stansted airport was unable to confirm the flight status as it was a private charter and not operated from the main passenger terminal, the spokesman said.
London Stansted, north-east of the city, is one of five airports serving the British capital.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/227701 |