. 24/7 Space News .
AEROSPACE
Police thwart climate activists' drone bid to close Heathrow
By Dmitry ZAKS
London (AFP) Sept 13, 2019

London police deployed Friday a sweeping security cordon around Heathrow Airport and made seven arrests to thwart climate activists' efforts to shut down Europe's busiest travel hub using toy drones.

Campaigners from Heathrow Pause -- an offshoot of the Extinction Rebellion group backed by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg -- had hoped to disrupt the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers from across the world over the weekend.

But their first miniature device failed to take flight after receiving no signal from its hand-held remote control.

"They are jamming -- we can't get the signal," one campaigner said in a video posted on social media from what appeared to be the airport's outer edge.

"The passengers will be happy. We are not happy."

A London police spokesman refused to confirm or deny the use of jamming devices.

"We do not discuss security tactics," the spokesman told AFP.

But the department said it was imposing a "dispersal order" under a criminal statute act covering "anti-social behaviour" in areas surrounding the airport's vast grounds through to Sunday morning.

- 'Not criminal' -

The campaigners' official aim is to prevent construction of a third Heathrow runway and to cut harmful gas emissions to a net level of zero by 2025.

Yet their chosen means of protest also points to the hazards drones of any size pose to airports long term.

Heathrow rules stipulate that it must temporarily close should a drone be spotted within its five-kilometre (three-mile) exclusion zone.

It was expected to make exceptions should this only involve miniature drones flying close to the ground and away from runways or flight paths -- the rules Heathrow Pause intends to keep.

"Like-minded citizens just know that what we are doing is not a criminal act," group member Sylvia Dell told AFP as she prepared to fly her own drone in the coming days.

The retired mother-of-four said she was stirred to action by a United Nations report warning governments in October that they had 12 years left to stop the earth from warming to dangerous levels.

"We're the fire alarm ringing in the middle of the night telling people to wake up, your house is on fire," Dell said.

- 'Public nuisance' -

Several still-unexplained drone sightings around Heathrow and London's Gatwick Airport shut them down for several days over the winter holidays.

The group's members have met airport representatives and the London police to arrange precautionary measures aimed at avoiding accidents.

They had hoped to fly the drones at head height at hourly intervals that could keep the airport closed continuously for up to five days.

"You need to make disruption painful before the authorities take notice," Dell said.

A Heathrow spokeswoman said on Friday that the airport remained "strongly committed" to addressing climate concerns.

"We agree with the need for climate change action but illegal protest activity designed with the intention of disrupting thousands of people is not the answer," she said.

London police announced the arrest of five men and two women on Thursday and Friday "on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance".

Dell said she faced "years" in jail because of two prior arrests during an Extinction Rebellion protest that ground parts of London to a halt for more than a week in April.

"Prison is a terrifying prospect," she said.

But "I find the prospect of not acting and allowing the world to collapse -- that's more terrifying for me."


Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


AEROSPACE
U.S. Air Mobile Command's 'Mobility Guardian' kicks off with 4,000 aviators
Washington (UPI) Sep 9, 2019
The U.S. Air Mobility Command's "Mobility Guardian 2019" exercise, with over 4,000 participating personnel and dozens of international aircraft, began at Fairchild Air Force Base over the weekend. The three-week exercise is the largest full-spectrum readiness exercise to date, and will be held at training areas and facilities at and around Fairchild AFB and Spokane, Wash., where it is located, AMC said on Monday. "Mobility Guardian" involves aircraft and personnel from 29 participating c ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

AEROSPACE
Voice-command ovens, robots for pets on show at Berlin's IFA tech fair

Israeli high-tech looks to future -- whoever wins vote

Malaysia Interested in Having Access to Russian Space Tech, Prime Minister Says

JAXA spacecraft carries science, technology to the Space Station

AEROSPACE
Engine Section for NASA's SLS Rocket Moved for Final Integration

New salt-based propellant proven compatible in dual-mode rocket engines

NASA prepares for green run testing, practices lifting SLS Core Stage

Putin reveals he offered to sell Trump Russia's hypersonic missiles

AEROSPACE
NASA Research Gives New Insight into How Much Atmosphere Mars Lost

'Martian CSI' Sheds Light on How Asteroid Impacts Generated Running Water Under Red Planet

NASA engineers attach Mars Helicopter to Mars 2020 rover

ESA Chief says discussed ExoMars 2020 launch with Roscosmos

AEROSPACE
China's KZ-1A rocket launches two satellites

China's newly launched communication satellite suffers abnormality

China launches first private rocket capable of carrying satellites

Chinese scientists say goodbye to Tiangong-2

AEROSPACE
Private Chinese firms tapping international space market

Iridium and Thales Expand Partnership to Deliver Aircraft Connectivity Services

ESA re-routes satellite to avoid SpaceX collision risk

Cutting-edge Chinese satellite malfunctions after launch

AEROSPACE
China data centres set to consume more power than Australia: report

Shaken but not stirred: Konnect satellite completes vibration tests

China's Tianhe-2 Supercomputer to Crunch Space Data From New Radio Telescope

ESA spacecraft dodges large constellation

AEROSPACE
Potassium Detected in an Exoplanet Atmosphere

Planetary collisions can drop the internal pressures in planets

Deep-sea sediments reveal solar system chaos: An advance in dating geologic archives

Exoplanets Can't Hide Their Secrets from Innovative New Instrument

AEROSPACE
Storms on Jupiter are disturbing the planet's colorful belts

ALMA shows what's inside Jupiter's storms

Young Jupiter was smacked head-on by massive newborn planet

Mission to Jupiter's icy moon confirmed









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.