Furious, wealthy New Yorkers erupted when angry Extinction Rebellion protesters denied them access to a New York City heliport.
The noisy blockade at the VIP Heliport lasted an hour and a half – and six people were arrested on Wednesday for causing the disruption in Chelsea.
Brazen protesters held banners and posters reading “Luxury Emissions Destroy Futures” and “Life or Death” as they stood strong along the entrance at West 30th Street and the West Side Highway.
The eco-warriors also held strollers and children’s toys as they stood on the picket line – which members of Extinction Rebellion said “symbolized what is at stake, the livelihood of our children and our families.”
Large numbers of flyers arriving on the trail were greeted by the protest. Families with small children tried to get through the human wall to make their helicopter flights.
Irate helicopter and ground crews were seen frantically trying to organize how their luxury clients would get on and off the helipad during the disruption.
The eco-warriors also held strollers and children’s toys as they stood on the picket line – which members of Extinction Rebellion said ‘symbolized what is at stake, the livelihoods of our children and our families’
Irate helicopter and ground crews were seen frantically trying to organize how their clients would get on and off the helipad during the disruption
When an SUV tried to drive up to pick up a customer, it was blocked by the XR protesters who briefly got into an altercation with an angry security guard working on site.
A woman wearing Louboutin heels skirted the crowd with her luggage as another businessman in a suit and carrying a Louis Vuitton bag hurried to the entrance.
Helicopters continued to land on the VIP platform, which is operated by Blade.
The helicopter service claims it can fly helicopters from Manhattan to JFK and Newark airports in five minutes, and fly paying customers to the Hamptons and parts of New England.
One seat in a Blade helicopter flying from the helipad to JFK Airport costs $195.
Footage showed NYPD officers arresting and handcuffing protesters as their comrades continued to shout and chant in the background.
“Luxury emissions are destroying our future,” the group chanted as they paraded past the entrance to the Manhattan helipad.
They continued in unison: “Helicopters, private planes, your emissions are insane.”
Helicopters continued to land at the VIP platform on West 30th Street, which is run by Blade
“Luxury emissions are destroying our future,” the group sang as they paraded past the entrance to the Manhattan helipad
A woman dressed in Louboutin heels bypassed the crowd with her luggage, while another businessman in a suit and briefcase hurried to the entrance
Brazen protesters held banners and posters reading “destroy the future” and “life or death” as they stood strong along the West 30th Street entrance
The helicopter service claims it can fly helicopters from Manhattan to JFK and Newark airports in five minutes, and fly paying customers to the Hamptons and parts of New England.
The noisy blockade at the VIP Heliport lasted an hour and a half and six people were arrested on Wednesday for causing the disruption in Chelsea
Blade said it “continues to purchase offsets to counteract the carbon emissions generated by our urban air mobility services, to remain carbon neutral as a company.”
In a statement after the protest,
Protesters warned that there are ‘no luxury emissions on a dead planet’ and demanded an end to fossil fuels.
‘The group, carrying prams and soft toys, blocked the main entrance using lock-ons and held banners with the words ‘LUXURY EMISSIONS DESTROY FUTURES’.
“The main entrance was blocked for 90 minutes and six people were arrested.”
They added: “Blade Air Mobility, Inc, the company that operates many of the flights out of Manhattan’s heliports, has committed (in words only) to purchasing electric helicopters to replace their current fossil fuel fleet.
‘This crisis is life-threatening and it is time that we approach it as such.
When an SUV tried to drive up to pick up a customer, it was blocked by the XR protesters who briefly got into an altercation with an angry security guard working on site.
The demonstrators held up posters
An argument broke out with a security guard on site
Laura Robertson, an activist with Extinction Rebellion, said: ‘Why are we doing this? Because nothing else has worked’
“The weather in New York is quickly approaching a point where helicopters can no longer fly safely – electric or otherwise.”
Laura Robertson, an activist with Extinction Rebellion, said: ‘Why are we doing this? Because nothing else has worked. There have been twenty-seven COP conferences.
‘Environmentally speaking, there is no time left for the super-rich to continue pumping out emissions. There is no more time for excessive ecological footprints.’
“Helicopters are a plague on New Yorkers and a rotten pinnacle of an economic system that puts pleasure above planetary survival. We have to stop them,” said Charles Komanoff, a cycling activist and transportation analyst.
Emma Jacobs, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, said: ‘A viable future for our children is being jeopardized by the carbon emissions of luxury.
‘The strollers and toys symbolize what is at stake: the livelihood of our children and our families.
‘It contributes to the collapse of food systems, to drought and famine, and to 1 billion climate refugees by 2050.
“Is an extravagant lifestyle worth risking the loss of all life on Earth?”