Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has banned 36 climate activists who breached a secure zone during an Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest on 8 March 2025. The measure effectively prevents the protesters from flying in or out of the Netherlands’ main international hub for between five and 10 years, an outcome some commentators have slammed as disproportionate and anti-free-speech.
“On March 8, 2025, 30 to 40 people attempted to gain unauthorized access to a secured area of Schiphol. This is punishable under the law and a serious violation of our house rules,” the airport said in a statement after the XR members made their punishment public.
KLM blijft de elite belonen en het klimaat slopen. Wij blijven terugkomen. Tot Flying Blue stopt. #KLM #ExtinctionRebellion pic.twitter.com/7dj7gJXoSt
— Extinction Rebellion Nederland (@NLRebellion) March 8, 2025
Public order versus the right to protest
The protest was the 12th time XR had taken action at Schiphol, targeting KLM’s “Flying Blue” scheme, the Dutch flag carrier’s frequent flyer rewards programme. Schiphol officials said the long-term bans were being implemented “to safeguard the safety of the airport, public order, and the interests of travelers,” but XR campaigner and former KLM employee Simone Wiegman, writing for Het Parool, highlighted how non-confrontational the campaign was, saying that the activists gained entry to the airside area using fully refundable tickets, some of them without even being challenged by an ID check.
KLM is het klimaat aan het mollen door niet eens de meest simpele en logische stap te nemen richting verduurzaming: het stoppen van Flying Blue. #StopFlyingBlue pic.twitter.com/ik6N4mX8iG
— Extinction Rebellion Nederland (@NLRebellion) March 8, 2025
As a result Weigman refutes the security concerns, claiming that any “disruptions have always been very minor. Our campaign is not aimed at passengers or staff but at a system that rewards excessive flying,” she said. “In this case, only a few frequent flyers were unable to get coffee in the lounge.” She added that armed officers at the airport, the Royal Marechaussee “even wished several activists an enjoyable demonstration.”
“Disproportionate restriction of freedom of movement”
Campaigners argue that demonstrations must be allowed to take place where their target can see and hear them, in this instance “in the Frequent Flyer Lounge, where KLM pampers ‘elite’ passengers with free snacks and drinks,” Wiegman said. Banning the protesters from the airport for up to a decade is “a dangerous suppression of the right to protest” and “a disproportionate restriction of freedom of movement,” she said.
Vrouwen wereldwijd dragen de gevolgen van klimaatverandering. KLM beloont de elite, terwijl anderen lijden. Vandaag laten we dat zien op Schiphol. #InternationaleVrouwendag #StopFlyingBlue pic.twitter.com/e64XSw8pmN
— Extinction Rebellion Nederland (@NLRebellion) March 8, 2025
Willem Jebbink, a lawyer for XR, confirmed that the group is examining options for taking the airport to court over the injunctions. Schiphol meanwhile claims that it supports the right to protest but that demonstrations must not be allowed to interfere with the essential mobility the airport provides the Dutch nation.
XR on the other hand disputes this vital function, pointing to data from the Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy suggesting half of Dutch people never fly and that only a quarter of the population is accountable for 75% of flights. That small section of travellers are the ones displaying “extreme behaviour”, the climate group argues.
