UAE flights to and from Germany were unaffected by the Munich airport closure on Saturday, May 18, 2024, after climate protesters from the group Last Generation brought operations to a temporary halt. Both Emirates and Etihad Airways confirmed to the Khaleej Times that their services operated normally, with no delays or change of course.
Emirates and Etihad Confirm No Disruption to UAE Flights
Officials from Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways were unequivocal: flights between the UAE and Germany ran on schedule throughout the incident. Neither carrier reported delays, cancellations, or diverted services as a result of the Munich shutdown.
The confirmation came amid widespread disruption that saw roughly 70 flights cancelled or diverted to other German airports during the closure.
Climate Activists Shut Munich Airport for Two Hours
Six activists from Last Generation — a student-led climate group operating primarily in Germany, Italy, and Austria — breached the perimeter of Munich International Airport and glued themselves to a taxiway, triggering a security-driven closure of the entire facility.
The shutdown lasted approximately two hours. The first of the airport's two runways reopened about one hour into the closure; the second followed roughly an hour later. Eight activists were arrested by police deployed to the scene.
The protest fell on the Whitsun holiday weekend, one of the busiest travel periods of the year, with Munich Airport expecting to handle at least 350,000 passengers. Airport officials described chaotic scenes during the closure but confirmed operations returned to normal once the runways reopened.
Last Generation Targets Aviation Subsidies
Last Generation claimed responsibility for the action in posts on X, with group members pictured on the taxiway holding protest banners. The group said it targeted Munich Airport to draw attention to what it described as more than 12 billion euros in annual German government subsidies for the aviation industry — primarily through exemptions on kerosene tax and VAT.
"Almost half of all flight tickets are financed exclusively by tax money," the group stated.
Germany's interior minister Nancy Faeser condemned the action, calling for tighter airport security and describing the protest as criminal. "Such criminal actions endanger air traffic and harm climate protection because they only cause contempt and anger," she said.
Despite the scale of the disruption within Germany, UAE carriers operating routes through Munich emerged from the incident without incident, according to airline spokespeople cited by the Khaleej Times.
