Airport civil disobedience plans

Marches and meetings could be replaced by road blockades

Anti-airport campaigners are threatening to carry out a campaign of civil disobedience.

Protests against government plans to expand Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted have so far involved meetings and marches.

But now campaigners are linking up with environmental group Rising Tide for more direct action.

They are threatening to block access roads and construction sites.

The government is due to release plans for new runways at the airports by the end of this year.

UK airport expansion

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Protesters are upset that airport expansion will lead to increased noise levels, loss of land for housing and agriculture and the demolition of historic areas.

But supporters of the schemes say the UK economy will suffer if airports do not expand.

Road action

Possible targets of direct action include airport access roads and Heathrow's terminal five project.

The protests would mirror those held against road building in the 1990s.

Campaigners then tried to block construction of the M3 through Twyford Down, the Newbury bypass and M11 link road in London.

Though direct action ultimately failed to stop those projects, it did help swing public opinion firmly against big road building programmes, BBC transport correspondent Simon Montague said.