A judge has summoned two climate activists from Futuro Vegetal and a journalist to trial for a protest at Barajas airport in July 2023. They face a minor offense of damages after more serious charges were dismissed. The action involved gluing themselves to a runway floor for two hours.
On July 21, 2023, two activists from Futuro Vegetal and a journalist covering the action staged a protest at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. They glued their hands to the floor of a runway in a sit-in, accompanied by a sign reading: “Un pueblo unido funciona sin partido”. This action prevented the use of the runway for about two hours, until firefighters intervened to unglue them, as reported by police officers. No takeoffs or landings were disrupted.
Legal defense sources confirmed that the judge has summoned the three for November 20 on a suspected minor offense of damages. More serious charges, such as public disorder or against air security, which police had sought to attribute, were dismissed, according to the ecologist group.
Prior to this criminal procedure, the activists received administrative fines from Aena of 90,000 euros each for the same actions. The journalist joins them on the bench in a case reminiscent of another at the Prado Museum, where a case against reporters covering a similar Futuro Vegetal protest was archived.
Futuro Vegetal has faced other charges, such as for criminal organization in actions where they protested naked and bathed in red liquid, but this case focuses on the Barajas protest.