On 1 June 2025, dozens of people showed their strength and courage in a popular march and sit-in that interrupted access to the country’s most polluting infrastructure, Humberto Delegado airport. We were half a hundred people, of different ages, professions and social and political backgrounds. We all joined this sit-in at the airport because we know that we need to stop the climate crisis, cut emissions, drastically reduce the aviation sector and invest massively in a free, electrified public transport system for all people.
The rally started at 3pm at the Rotunda do Relógio. We practised our chants (‘The aviation industry has blood on its hands!’ or ‘Neither here nor Alcochete, out with the airport’), put on similar t-shirts to convey a united but colourful image of the action, and held the first delegates’ plenary session of the day.
At 4pm, we marched from the Rotunda do Relógio towards Lisbon Airport. There were half a hundred of us holding banners such as ‘Stop Aeroplanes and Cut Emissions’, ‘Disarm the Fossil Industry’ or ‘Neither Here nor Alcochete / out with the airport’, in an energetic and visually united march with drums accompanying the chants.
After being told that we wouldn’t be able to enter the airport concourse, we decided to sit in one of the airport’s road access lanes so that we could still cause disruption during peak flight times. Shortly afterwards, another group of eight people managed to block another road entrance to the airport with their own bodies. In this way, for a while we were able to create disruption with our own bodies at the main access points to the country’s most emitting and polluting infrastructure.
In a plenary session after being warned of repression by the police, the half a hundred people occupying the access road to the airport decided to leave because we would need more people prepared to resist until the end. At the same time and on the other side, the other affinity group continued to block one of the access roads to the airport, demonstrating that only direct action and popular democracy can halt the course towards the climate abyss towards which the companies, governments and institutions of this deadly system are leading us.
After the arrest of six people, the sit-in marched to the Olivais police station to wait for everyone to be released. We know that the action only ends when everyone is free, and half a hundred people marched to the police station in solidarity. The repression is an attempt to demobilise and punish those who know that this economic system is killing us. But the real consequences are if we don’t act now. We are taking action with our own hands and bodies because we know that institutions, governments and companies are to blame for this climate crisis and will not hesitate to destroy everything in the name of profit.
During the vigil we sang songs to encourage the liberation of the people inside, and we also held a plenary session where in small groups we discussed and imagined the possibility of a better world and city where life is above profit. In small groups, we reflected on and discussed the question: ‘When it closes in 2030, what could Portela Airport be?’. The airport’s current area represents almost five per cent of Lisbon and covers more than 400 hectares. Many contemplate not only building a new airport in Alcochete – which would be the equivalent of building a new arms factory in the middle of the climate crisis – but also selling the land of the current airport to private individuals. Aviation emissions must fall to almost zero by 2030 and Portela airport must be closed with a guarantee of a fair transition for the workers, transforming the land into something useful for people and not for profit – public housing, agroforestry, parks, community services, etc.
The vigil lasted until 11.30pm, when all the people were released.
We were half a hundred people, of different ages, professions, and social and political backgrounds. And regardless of our origins, ages and professions, we all came together at the airport because we know that the climate crisis is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced, and we’re scared.
We’re frightened because, faced with the possibility of climate and social collapse, governments and companies – the culprits who have led us to this point – continue to put their foot on the accelerator by making plans for new emitting projects, such as the Portela airport expansion project and the construction of a new airport in Alcochete. We are frightened because during the campaign for the early parliamentary elections in May, the climate crisis was not at the centre of the debate. We are frightened because despite the need for a drastic reduction to almost 0 by 2030, the aviation industry continues to grow exponentially and burn the planet at the expense of the luxury of just 10 per cent of the world’s population.
Today, we stood together in strength, courage and solidarity at Lisbon airport in the ‘Stop the Planes’ sit-in because we know that we need to stop the climate crisis, cut emissions and invest massively in a free, electrified public transport system for all people. We have created disruption with our own bodies at peak flight times on what is the most emitting infrastructure in Portugal. But we know it’s still not enough, and that we need hundreds of thousands of people to stop consenting to this system that is leading us into the climate abyss and investing in war, borders, weapons and misery for the profit of the few.
If this is what we achieved with the courage and determination of 50 people, imagine what we could achieve with 10,000 people on the streets! The climate crisis is a war against people and the planet whose manifestations in our lives are increasingly present and in increasingly aggressive ways. At the same time, fascism and the far right are rising to power. They just want to build more walls, more borders, make fossil capitalism worse, make more profit and privatise more.
We know that the system is collapsing and the institutions won’t save us. Only popular democracy and the power of the people can apply the emergency brake to the climate crisis. Dozens of ordinary people, like you, have shown their courage and taken to the streets to shout. When are you going to join the climate resistance?
Next steps
The sit-in was just another step in building people’s power to stop the climate crisis. The next step is to keep going, getting stronger and stronger. Only together, with you, can we fight for a dignified life and social justice on a liveable planet.
Climáximo’s introductory meeting: June 10 at 16pm on José Fontana Square bandstand!
