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Black Lives Matter Protest Blocks Flights at London Airport

Flights have been disrupted at London City Airport after a group of Black Lives Matter protesters occupied a runway this morning.

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The airport said flights were diverted to Gatwick and hoped to “resume operations as soon as possible”.

According to London’s Metropolitan Police, nine people erected a tripod and locked themselves together on the runway.

Officers were negotiating with them while they waited for “specialist resources” to arrive and unlock the group.

Seven arrests have been made and two protesters are still on the runway.

An estimated 4.3 million passengers used the airport previous year.

Its sole runway is surrounded by water, but it was reported that the protesters were able to swim from land surrounding the airport, raising questions about security.

Pictures show them huddled together on the runway or lying down on the tarmac.

“We note, however, that the U.K.is willing to charter special flights to remove black people from the country based on their immigration status”.

A London City Airport spokesperson added: “The runway is now closed due to protesters on site”.

Dozens of early morning flights were cancelled at London City, which is the United Kingdom capital’s fifth airport and is heavily used by the nearby Canary Wharf financial district.

Activists from the global group “Black Lives Matter UK” claimed responsibility for the disruption at the airport, Efe news reported.

In this July 8, 2016, photo, a man holds up a sign saying “black lives matter” during a protest of shootings by police, in Washington by the White House.

The movement says the aim of the demonstration is to “protest the UK’s environmental impact on black people”. Similar actions were carried out in Birmingham and Nottingham in a coordinated day of action.

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In their statement, the group claimed that LCA is “designed for the wealthy” and local black people earn just £20,000 a year.

Flights at London's City Airport disrupted after protesters storm runway