Flights from London Stansted airport have been cancelled following a protest by a climate action group.

Once the security breach was rectified, the runways were reopened at 8am approximately.

But 21 flights have been cancelled because of the events and passengers are being advised to contact their airlines before travelling. London Stansted is a hub for many low cost airlines such as Ryanair and it is located in the English county of Essex. It is the third busiest airport in England after Gatwick and Heathrow and last year flights peaked with around 24 million passengers using London Stansted.
Low cost airline Ryanair has demanded that an investigation should be carried out into how the protesters managed to access the runways.

It seems that they forced their way in using bolt cutters while the runway was being worked on overnight and then they put up a stockade, surrounding themselves with security fencing which they brought with them. Finally, the climate action group chained themselves to that fencing. While the group was apparently apologetic afterwards to the passengers whose flights they had interrupted, the protestors said that the effects of climate change would only get worse unless drastic action was taken. The protest follows the recent approval by the English government of an expansion of Stansted airport, as BAA wants to increase the number of passengers leaving the airport to 35 million every year. While the airline unions have welcomed the creation of new jobs by the proposal, objectors have bemoaned the damaging effect that it would have on the environment.

In other news travel experts have now predicted that the world economic crisis may start to bring down the cost of air travel. Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair, has said that flights could fall by 15% to 20% by the end of March. This is due in part to the falling cost of oil from a peak of $150 per barrel in August, and the fact that the airlines need to be competitive and keep attracting passengers if they are to survive. The airline industry has lost 1.4 billion dollars this year according to figures released by the industry body the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The Daily Mail has today reported that hundreds of passengers who fell ill while staying at a hotel in the Dominican Republic are suing the travel companies Thomas Cook and TUI UK. The vomiting sickness happened in 2006 to around 300 holiday makers while staying in the Hotels Riu Bachata, Riu Merengue and Riu Mambo in Bahia Maimon.
They have now filed a case in the High Court of London. According to reports the legal representation in the case are expected to rely heavily on the evidence of a similar viral outbreak at the Riu Bachata in 2005. Some of those visitors to the Dominican Republic in 2006 are still claiming to be affected by the bug, and they are suing for compensation for being ill, to cover the cost of the holiday and for their loss of earnings.

Reporter: Robert Frische