Are airports and jets belonging to celebrities like Taylor Swift coming under attack?

The aviation industry will finally fully recover from COVID-19 in 2024. After declining to 16.9 million flights in 2020, airlines will surpass the 2019 record of 38.9 million flights and reach a new peak of 40.1 million flights in 2024. Air passenger numbers will also reach a record high of 4.7 billion this year.

But as COVID-19 subsides, a new threat has emerged to the $996 billion aviation industry. Radical activists, primarily climate and pro-Palestinian, are targeting airlines and airports in the U.S. and Europe. So far, most of the damage has been financial and delays for thousands of travelers. But a police officer has been injured and planes have been forced to divert to avoid landing on a passenger whose hands were clinging to the runway.

On June 19, two self-proclaimed environmental activists appeared to use a saw to destroy a chain link fence at Stansted Airport in the UK. After gaining entry, the pair attacked two private jets with paint spray guns, causing at least $65,000 worth of damage. Initially, the pair claimed one of the jets belonged to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, but her plane was not at the airport.

Two British protesters, Jennifer Kowalski, 28, and Cole McDonald, 22, took pride in their actions and filmed the invasion, which saw them cut through the fence and use a fire extinguisher to give the plane a fresh coat of orange paint, with up to 75 flights reportedly delayed.

British authorities said the pair were arrested “within nine minutes.” They were charged with criminal damage to property, trespass and disrupting critical “national infrastructure.” A British judge surprisingly refused to grant them their immediate release.

Climate activists spray paint Stonehenge, marking 18^Number He played a hole in the PGA Travelers Championship tournament wearing a “NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET” T-shirt.

Just Stop Oil claimed responsibility for the airport attack, as they did when they repainted Stonehenge. Just Stop Oil said: “80% of the population have never flown in a plane. Just 1% of people cause 50% of global aviation emissions. Commercial jet passengers are responsible for up to 14 times more carbon emissions than commercial flights.” The Stansted attackers were said to have made a statement about the need for an “urgent treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030”.

The attack on Stansted Airport is just one in a series of recent attempts to “interfere with national infrastructure” in the name of a cause. A potentially more serious attack occurred at Munich airport in May, when six climate “protesters” glued themselves to the runway to protest against aviation pollution, causing delays for thousands. In 2022, activists glued themselves to the runway at Berlin airport, putting themselves and passengers at risk. Activists have previously blocked roads into Heathrow Airport and invaded private jet terminals in the US.

Environmentalists like to target private jets because of their high carbon footprint per passenger. Other reasons include the easy access to airfields for private jets and the valuable publicity that comes from targeting jet-setting celebrities like Taylor Swift. But while the private jet industry is certainly under threat, airlines are also on the no-fly list.

These airport attacks are not just immoral and a nuisance: they threaten the freedom of travel for millions of people and create threats to passengers, airport staff, police, and the protesters themselves.

In the United States, pro-Palestinian protests have gone beyond the construction of illegal university camps and the harassment of students.

Since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, killing, raping and kidnapping more than 1,400 people, pro-Palestinian protesters have tried to blockade the country's transport infrastructure, including airports, highways, bridges, tunnels and train stations.

Campus protesters have even targeted aircraft: Tenet Media reported on June 14 that “Pro-Palestinian UCLA Protesters Attack News Helicopter with Laser,” and posted footage of the purported attack.

But there has been little to no federal scrutiny.

Major US airports including JFK, LGA, LAX, PDX, ORD, SEA and ATL have all been shut down, some multiple times, as travelers abandon ride-share vehicles and struggle to carry heavy luggage to terminals.

In December 2023, violent protests at Los Angeles International Airport saw pro-Palestinian protesters attempt to block the approaches. They littered the road with tree branches, trash cans, traffic cones, electric scooters, and construction debris. Stranded motorists were attacked in their cars, a police officer was thrown to the ground, and 36 people were arrested.

Law enforcement responses have been mixed: No arrests were made during two-hour roadblocks at Portland International Airport (PDX) on New Year's Day and Atlanta International Airport on June 3. However, on December 27, when pro-Palestinian protesters attempted coordinated simultaneous roadblocks at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 3 pm and Los Angeles International Airport at noon, the NYPD and LAPD made a total of 62 arrests.

While local police responses have varied, one thing that has remained consistent is the lack of federal action to address what is clearly a national issue.

On June 2nd, an attempt was made to shut down or occupy Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL), the busiest airport in the United States.

As this marks at least the 10th attempt by pro-Palestinian protesters to blockade a U.S. airport, I reached out to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for comment.

I received the following statement: “DOT and the FAA do not own or operate airports. Airport authorities, local law enforcement, and the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, are responsible for airport security. While the Department of Homeland Security respects the First Amendment right to protest, activities must never endanger the safety of travelers or workers. When safety is threatened, law enforcement must use the full extent of their authority to intervene and investigate.”

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) responded similarly, with a spokesperson saying, “Vehicles participating in the protest outside ATL campus were traveling on public roads at the airport. Police and ATL personnel are monitoring the situation. There has been no impact to operations.”

The FBI, Department of Justice and TSA did not respond to inquiries.

Whatever the charges against airport sabotage and road blockades, they are unilateral violations of a fundamental human right: the freedom to travel. According to Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights:

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his own country.

In the United States, the right to travel within and between states is a fundamental right of citizenship.

The threat to travel isn't just directed at the Taylor Swifts of the world. The US and Europe must crack down on those attacking our airports before tragedy strikes.