Now Gatwick is being hit by Just Stop Oil as departures threatened; cops arrest seven

Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted Gatwick departures at the airport. Just Stop Oil is working with groups internationally under the ‘Oil Kills’ banner to demand governments establish a fossil fuel treaty, to end the extraction and burning of fossil fuels by 2030.

Oil Kills hits Gatwick departures

At around 8am on Monday 29 July, seven supporters of Just Stop Oil entered the Southern terminal at Gatwick and used suitcases with lock-on devices to block the Gatwick departures gates:

🚨 BREAKING: GATWICK DEPARTURE GATES BLOCKED

✈️ 7 Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted the southern terminal at Gatwick airport, joining 21 other groups in the @_oilkills international uprising.

🛢️ Demand our government Just Stop Oil by 2030 — https://t.co/xAyrqHDJYe pic.twitter.com/578htw3tAa

— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 29, 2024

Cops arrested all seven of them:

🦺 Mel was arrested blocking the departure gates at Gatwick Airport with 7 others in support of Just Stop Oil this morning.

💬 "It's simple. Oil kills. We need to end fossil fuels before they end us".

🛢️ Demand our government Just Stop Oil by 2030 — https://t.co/xAyrqHDJYe pic.twitter.com/pAk0L40q5j

— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 29, 2024

One of those taking action this morning is Mel Carrington who said:

We’ve just had the hottest three days on earth in recorded history and possibly for hundreds of thousands of years. Innocent people around the world already face extreme weather and deadly heat and no one is prepared for the societal collapse that unchecked global heating will bring.

I’m terrified of what it will mean for my family and friends when there are widespread crop failures, food shortages and economic meltdowns. It will mean the breakdown of law and order, the end of the NHS and the loss of everything we depend on.

We need a global emergency plan to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. Our government must work with other countries and commit to signing a legally binding fossil fuel treaty to phase out oil, gas and coal by 2030 – and it must support poorer countries to get off fossil fuels too.

Also taking action is Greg Sculthorpe who said:

I can’t bear to stand back and watch millions dying because the rich and powerful prefer to protect their wealth and status, than the lives of ordinary people.

Ordinary people have no choice but to fight to defend our families, as we pass every safe threshold that risks triggering irreversible feedback loops, leading us towards a hothouse earth where millions are displaced. We need an emergency fossil fuel treaty to phase down fossil fuels by 2030.

Just Stop Oil joins international movement

The Oil Kills international uprising has been taking action at airports around the world – with Gatwick departures being the latest.

As the Canary has documented, 21 groups across 12 countries have taken action at 17 airports so far. They include Letzte Generation Germany, Folk Mot Fossilmakta and Scientist Rebellion in Norway, XR Finland, Futuro Vegetal in Spain, Just Stop Oil in the UK, Drop Fossil Subsidies and Act Now – Liberate in Switzerland, Letzte Generation Austria, Extinction Rebellion and Scientists Rebellion in Sweden, Doe Deurne Dicht in Belgium, Last Generation Canada, XR Boston, Last Generation Sacramento, and Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island from the USA.

On Saturday 27 July, peaceful protests took place in at least six cities across six countries in support of Oil Kills. Airport disruption was a key feature, again – with more arrests amid blockades. In the UK things went up a gear – as activists targeted Keir Starmer’s new Labour Party government at the Department for Transport.

The situation with Just Stop Oil disrupting Gatwick departures is ongoing. The Canary will continue to monitor it.

The Oil Kills international began last Wednesday the same week the world’s hottest day has been broken twice in one week. Last Monday, the global average surface air temperature reached 17.15C, breaking the record of 17.09C set the previous day. This beats the record set in July 2023.

Featured image and additional images via Just Stop Oil