The storming of Stansted triggers fury over security

ANTI-AVIATION activists stormed Stansted airport today, sparking a row over the breach of security.

Thousands of passengers were left stranded after more than 50 eco-protesters cut through a perimeter fence and occupied the taxiway, preventing planes from taking off or landing.

Queues formed in the terminal as airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair were forced to cancel or delay flights.

Ryanair, which cancelled 52 flights, demanded an immediate investigation after accusing airport operator BAA of failing to keep Stansted "secure and open". The airline's staff handed out leaflets to travellers, proclaiming: "It is unacceptable that the travel plans of thousands of passengers have been disrupted because BAA Stansted security have failed to remove a number of protesters." The GMB union accused BAA of ignoring its demands for a review of security fencing around Stansted. Its national officer Mick Rix said: "The GMB has been raising the state of the fencing for a number of months because we have not been satisfied that it is in a good enough state."

The activists, protesting against global warming caused by the aviation industry and the proposed expansion of Stansted, broke through the perimeter fence shortly after 3am.

Many arrived on an old fire engine, from which some protesters climbed over the fence. Others used bolt-cutters to create a large hole, which the rest of the group poured through.

The activists, members of the direct action group Plane Stupid, then chained and locked themselves to temporary security fencing they had brought with them, blocking access to the runway.

At one stage, protesters claimed BAA staff tried to bulldoze them out of the way before police intervened. Officers arrested activists as they cut through the chains and locks, allowing the runway to reopen shortly after 8am. There were 57 arrests.

Plane Stupid spokeswoman Lily Kember, 21, speaking on a mobile phone before being arrested, said: "We have never done anything as big as this before. This shows the level of concern about global warming among young people." Another Plane Stupid member, who gave her name only as Olivia, told via her mobile how she and about 50 others were being driven from the protest site in an airport shuttle bus.

Olivia, who had been handcuffed by police, said: "We are all now in a shuttle bus having a party. We are all singing and dancing. This is the first time a major British airport has been brought to a standstill for this reason."

Airport security chiefs will be concerned that there was no indication that the protest was going to take place.

BAA said it would review security but a spokesman added: "We do not operate a fortress. We don't employ an army of people to monitor the fence."

Nick Barton, Stansted's commercial and development director, said: "It [the fire engine] probably didn't look out of place in all honesty as there are a number of emergency services vehicles around the site."