Story ID: 
Two Bizjets Spray-painted at London Stansted
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: Two protestors breached airside security at the UK airport
Word Count: 255
Environmental protestors from the Just Stop Oil group broke into London Stansted Airport early Thursday morning and damaged a pair of business aircraft parked in an area managed by the Harrods Aviation FBO. Police arrested Jennifer Kowalski and Cole Macdonald soon after the attack, which happened 24 hours after the same group sprayed the UK’s Stonehenge World Heritage Site with orange powder.
According to Harrods Aviation’s director of operations Dan Holian, the protestors cut through Stansted’s security fence and then crossed a pair of live taxiways and apron areas to reach the parked aircraft. “Two aircraft were sprayed with an orange substance, which has since been cleaned off,” Holian told AIN. “In line with our policy of confidentiality, we will not be disclosing whose aircraft they were or further information regarding the incident."
The police commander at Stansted Airport has since mobilized additional resources to protect both airside and landside areas. According to Harrods, additional airport security protocols have also been implemented.
In Just Stop Oil’s social media feed on X (formerly Twitter), Kowalski and Macdonald posted a video showing themselves sitting in front of the damaged aircraft with a fire extinguisher believed to have been used for the attack.
Earlier on Thursday, Scotland’s Green Party called for a £1,000 ($1,260) per-passenger tax on private jet flights. The group, which is campaigning in the UK’s ongoing general election, also seeks to remove tax breaks on aviation fuel and ban short-haul scheduled flights.