London City Airport closed by Black Lives Matter protesters

Flights at London City Airport were severely disrupted on Tuesday morning, after a group of protestors managed to access the runway.

It’s understood a group activists got past security by using a rubber dinghy to access the runway, which lies on reclaimed land in London’s Docklands, surrounded by water.

Metropolitan Police were called to the airport around 0540 BST, and were still there at 0730 BST trying to “defuse” the situation.

“We believe that the protesters are airside. We are on the scene at the moment, and the incident is ongoing,” a police spokesman said.

No arrests have yet been made.

All flights to the airport were diverted to Gatwick and Southend, and flights due to depart have been grounded as the activists huddled together on the runway.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the protesters were demonstrating about, though photos have emerged showing them carrying Black Lives Matter banners.

“The runway is currently closed due to protesters on site,” an airport spokesman said in a statement.

“Police are present and we will resume normal operations as soon as possible.”