Some climate activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) had chained themselves in the room where loyal KLM customers can retreat while waiting for their flight. Others demonstrated with banners and pamphlets.
The KLM lounge is located behind customs. The climate activists, several dozen of them, had therefore bought plane tickets, which they immediately canceled after passing through customs.
After about three hours, the activists were ordered to leave the KLM lounge by the Royal Military Police. When 21 demonstrators refused, they were arrested. A specialist team from the Marechaussee had already been called in to loosen the locks, but that turned out to be unnecessary. The last three activists who had chained themselves to a counter revealed the combinations of the locks with a few quiz questions about the climate damage of flying.
Gross scandal
The activists denounce airlines’ frequent flyer programs (FFP) and urge KLM to stop them. The loyalty programs are by definition aimed at affluent customers who already have a large ecological footprint.
‘That KLM, through the FFP, targets the richest 1 percent – who cause 50 percent of emissions! – encourages people to fly even more and rewards them with free flights and other extras, is a gross scandal,” writes XR spokesperson Simone Wiegman in a press release.
Research has often shown that a small group of ‘frequent fliers’ travels a relatively large proportion of the flying kilometers. For example, research by the Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy from 2018 states that 8 percent of the Dutch population made 40 percent of the air travel.
Amsterdammers fly more often
Dutch people travel by plane an average of 1.3 times a year, but this also includes the 42 percent who did not fly that year. Of the Dutch, 2 percent even make more than 8 plane trips per year. About 6 percent make 4 to 7 air trips annually.
Recent Amsterdam research by the municipal Research and Statistics office also shows the climate impact of frequent flyers. Amsterdam residents fly more often than the average Dutch person, but this mainly applies to a relatively small group. For example, 20 percent of residents appear to be responsible for 72 percent of the flying hours of Amsterdam residents.
KLM response
KLM says in a response that it has invited XR for a meeting at its head office in Amstelveen and has discussed the loyalty program extensively with climate activists. “The aim is not to fly more often or as much as possible,” a spokesperson wrote.
The spokesperson says that the ‘miles’ collected by customers can also be used for donations to charities, CO2compensation or purchasing alternative fuel, which according to KLM is less damaging to the climate.
Tags: Extinction Rebellion climate protest KLM lounge Schiphol people arrested
