Protestors who halted flights at Stansted avoid prison
Fifteen protestors who brought Stansted airport to a standstill for more than an hour when they chained themselves to a plane have been spared jail.
Twenty-three incoming flights had to be diverted when the group broke through a fence at the airport to stop the plane from deporting 60 people to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
The 15 were found guilty at Chelmsford Crow Court of endangering the safety of an aerodrome and three received jail sentences, but these were suspended. The other 12 received community orders.
The protestors have said they will appeal against their convictions, which they believe have serious implications for the freedom to protest.
They used bolt cutters to enter Stansted Airport and attached themselves to the Boeing 767 using tubes and expanding foam on 28 March 2017.
Three of the defendants, Edward Thacker, Alistair Tamlit and Melanie Strickland were given nine-month jail sentences, suspended for 18 months.
The other 12 received 12-month community orders, with 11 of them ordered to carry out unpaid work.
All 15 were convicted on December 10 last year under the 1990 Aviation and Maritime Security Act, which was brought in after the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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