London [UK], June 21: Two people have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after appearing to spray orange paint over private jets at London's Stansted Airport.
Essex Police said it detained two women - named by activist group Just Stop Oil as Jennifer Kowalski, 28, and Cole Macdonald, 22 - after they gained access to a private area of an airfield and were "causing damage to two aircraft".
The activists entered the airfield and painted two private jets using fire extinguishers filled with orange paint, the environmental group said.
In a post on X, Just Stop Oil said: "Jennifer and Cole cut the fence into the private airfield at Stansted where @taylorswift13's jet is parked, demanding an emergency treaty to end fossil fuels by 2030." The accompanying video shows one of the activists cutting a hole in the airfield's metal fence using an angle grinder.
One activist, wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt, can then be seen spraying the fuselage and windows of two parked white planes with orange paint, before both then sit together in front of the planes on the tarmac. Officers were called at around 5 am after reports of people gaining access to a private area of an airfield at Stansted Airport, Essex Police said.
Two people had entered an area "well away from the runway and main passenger terminal" before causing damage to two aircraft.
A 22-year-old woman from Brighton and a 28-year-old woman from Dumbarton have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use or operation of national infrastructure, the force said.
It added the airport and flights are operating as normal.
Chief superintendent Simon Anslow said: "I would like to reassure passengers and the wider public that we are well prepared and resourced to deal with incidents of this nature.
"Almost immediately after we were made aware of this incident, which took place away from the main passenger terminal, we were on the scene.
"We maintain a constant presence at the airport and this presence will be heightened over the summer period.
"We are not anti protest but we will always take action where criminal acts take place." Essex Police confirmed the private jet of pop star Taylor Swift, which Just Stop Oil said had landed at Stansted "mere hours before", was not at the airport.
Macdonald, from Brighton, said: "We're living in two worlds: one where billionaires live in luxury, able to fly in private jets away from the other, where unliveable conditions are being imposed on countless millions.
Source: Qatar Tribune