London airport closed as Black Lives Matter protesters occupy runway
Flights at London's City Airport were suspended on Tuesday morning after a group of Black Lives Matter protesters occupied the runway.
As the protest got underway shortly before 6 a.m. London time, the airport, which is located in the east of the capital, tweeted that it was experiencing disruption and that it would resume normal service as soon as possible.
A group of nine protesters had locked themselves to a tripod they had erected on the runway, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement issued later Tuesday. All of the protesters were subsequently arrested, removed from the runway and taken into custody.
After a series of conflicting reports on which campaign group had led the protest, U.K. Black Lives Matter released a statement on its social media accounts.
"London City Airport is shutdown to protest the U.K.'s environmental impact on black people," it read.
The Evening Standard newspaper earlier reported that protesters had used a boat to reach the runway. London's Metropolitan Police said that there were nine protesters on the runway and they had erected a tripod and locked themselves together.
This is not the first time U.K Black Lives Matter protesters have disrupted London's airports. Last month the group blocked the approach road to Heathrow Airport.