Black Lives Matter Activists Shut Down London City Airport By Occupying Its Runway

Flights were disrupted at London City Airport early Tuesday after nine protesters from Black Lives Matter U.K. got onto the runway and “locked themselves together,” police said.

Seven people have been arrested and inbound flights were diverted, the BBC reports.

The group released a video statement saying that they aimed to “highlight the U.K.’s environmental impact on the lives of black people locally and globally.” In the video, activists said that “the average salary of a London City Airport passenger is £92,000 [$122,000] a year” while more than 40% of residents in the borough where the airport is located “scrape by on [$26,000] or less.”

The group also posted on social media photos of its activists huddled together with banners across the airport’s runway.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said that seven protestors had been arrested.

All flights in and out of the airport remain either delayed or cancelled.

London City Airport is located in the redeveloped Docklands area in the eastern part of the British capital. It serves mainly short-haul destinations in Europe, as well as a daily all-business class flight to New York.