LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The runway at London’s Stansted airport was temporarily closed on Tuesday after a protest organizers said was aimed at stopping deportations to Nigeria.
Eight inbound flights were diverted after the runway was closed at around 10:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) “while police dealt with a number of individuals who had entered a remote area of the airfield,” an airport spokesperson 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 spokesperson said.
London Stansted, north-east of the city, is one of five airports serving the British capital.
