Extinction Rebellion (XR) has said plans to expand an airport are “insane”.

The climate protest movement were protesting outside the Holywell Community Centre in Watford today (November 23) where a consultation took place over plans to build an extra terminal at London Luton Airport.

This would see passenger numbers increased to 32 million per year.

And Luton Airport believes the plans to expand the airport would see 16,000 new jobs and a £2 billion increase, including a £100m boost for the economy in Hertfordshire.

But Sam Willis, one of the protestors from XR, said while it is important to create jobs and tackle poverty, needing to"expand things that are killing our planet to care for people in poverty is madness” and it needed to be addressed.

He continued that going through with the plans would be like “adding fuel” to a world which is “on fire”.

Mr Willis, from Watford, continued: “We believe any airport expansion at this time is insane.

Watford Observer:

Signs put up by XR outside the centre 

“We are trying to make a point of not having any more airports expanding and by keeping the noise up it adds pressure to politicians to do something.

“I think a lot of what we are doing is publicity so letting people know about the truth of airport expansion and the climate crisis since a lot of people are not aware of it.”

However, Ciaran Scanlon, Programme Delivery Director for London Luton Airport Ltd, said it is committed to minimising and mitigating environmental impacts.

He added: “We are proposing phased and sustainable long-term growth of London Luton Airport to help meet the projected shortfall in national aviation of 60 million passenger journeys per year by 2050, and for the very significant economic and employment benefits that would deliver.”

During the protest Mr Willis was dressed in an elephant costume and walked around the consultation to act as the “climate crisis elephant in the room”.

Watford Observer:

And XR also set up signs of protest against the Luton Airport expansion and spoke to people who attended the consultation.

But XR felt the consultation could have been held in the town centre, believing that it was not advertised well enough.

However, Mr Scanlon added: “In deciding where to hold events, we worked to ensure that they were accessible to as many people as possible. We assessed where people are most affected by our proposals and how best to reach them.

“Taking these factors into account, we developed a balanced programme which was then adjusted, agreed and extensively promoted following consultation with the local authorities.”