ACTIVISTS from Reading were joined by Greta Thunberg while protesting the use of private jets in Farnborough last weekend.
On Saturday, Extinction Rebellion protesters, including many from Reading, took to the street to oppose plans to increase the number of private flights by 20,000.
Hundreds of people took part in the action and marched through Farnborough town centre with pink smoke flares and slogans printed on banners.
They were joined by famous activist Greta Thunberg, who rose to international fame in 2018 when she took part in the School Strike for the Climate in Sweden.
The protest moved to the main gate of Farnborough Airport, joined by members of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Alton Climate Action Network, The Quakers, XR Scientists, and XR Families, as well as councillors and residents.
The action also saw speeches from representatives of Extinction Rebellion, Safe Landing, anti-private jet campaign group Possible, and the No Airport Expansion Group, as well as a recorded message from broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham.
Extinction Rebellion cited figures that show the number of private jet flights from Farnborough rose by nearly 30% in 2022, with more than 33,120 arriving at or departing from the airport.
They also showed that the flights averaged just 2.5 passengers each, with two in five of the private flights showing no passengers at all.
They further countered claims that most private flights from the airport were “for business use,” by showing that most were actually headed to holiday destinations.
Ms Thunberg said: “The fact that using private jets is both legally and socially allowed today in an escalating climate emergency is completely detached from reality.
“There are few examples that show as clearly how the rich elite is sacrificing present and future living conditions on this planet so they can maintain their extreme and violent lifestyles.”
Finlay Asher, an aerospace engineer and Safe Landing member, said: “As aviation workers, we understand there’s a choice to be made about how we use our limited planetary resources.
“If we expand private jet flights, then this will consume a large slice of the pie and leave nothing for anybody else.
However, there is a positive way forward for society and for our industry: provide genuinely sustainable clean transport for the masses instead, rather than continuing to expand super-polluting private jet airports which cater only to a tiny minority of ultra-wealthy individuals.”
Todd Smith, former airline pilot and Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said: “Flying is the fastest way to fry the planet, and private jets are the most polluting way to fly.
“Surely it’s a no brainer to ban private jets and stop expanding these luxury airports in the midst of a climate crisis?”
He explained: “Survey after survey, as well as several citizens’ assemblies have shown this would be very popular and has widespread support from the general public.
“For most people, life has become more difficult–the cost of heating our homes, buying food and paying our bills has increased massively.
“So imagine looking out our windows to see yet more private jets flying billionaires around.
“Is this a fair society that we live in, or is there one set of rules for the majority, and another for the elites; plans to expand the UK’s largest private jet airport seem to make this clear.”
