Activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) and a German action group demonstrated at the entrance to the international art and antiques fair TEFAF on Saturday. They spoke out against the use of private jets by visitors to the Maastricht fair. At the end of the afternoon the action was over.
Earlier in the day, activists blocked the access roads to the convention center in Maastricht (MECC) where the fair is being held. The center was therefore no longer accessible to cars for a short time, according to the ANP news agency.
“We are of course not against art and antiques and that they are cherished,” a demonstrator told ANP. “But against the private jets of people who come to buy art. It is precisely these one percent of the richest people on earth who are responsible for its destruction.”
On Saturday morning, XR already took action against private jets at Maastricht airport (MAA). According to the action group, three to four private planes normally land at the airport per day, but during the TEFAF fair there are around two hundred. XR says that private flights are unnecessarily polluting the environment. The airport says that these aircraft will be the first to fly electrically in the future. Previous discussions between XR and MAA did not produce any concrete results, but MAA has indicated that it wants to enter into discussions with XR again.
More emissions
From research private flights appear to be more polluting per passenger than regular passenger flights, although estimates vary. According to the progressive think tank IPS (Institute for Policy Studies) private flights emit ten times as much CO per passenger
TEFAF attracts around 50,000 visitors every year, who can buy art from 270 dealers from more than twenty different countries.