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Jul 3, 2008-2008

United Kingdom

Paper Planes in Heathrow Anti- Expansion Protest

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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP

HACAN ClearSkies, Plane Stupid

TARGET

British Airport Authority

WIDELY HELD BELIEF

Authorities should stop the expansion.

CASE NARRATIVE

Issues and Opponents: The British Airport Authority (BAA) at Heathrow Airport was planning a third runway. The new runway would have required many homes, schools, and businesses to move, would ad light and sound pollution, and would increase air flights. The Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise ClearSkies (HACAN ClearSkies) was formed to tackle this and over time connected with other activist groups. Dilemma Action: The actions against the expansion took place beginning in 2002, but this specific DA took place in 2008 as there was broader public support for the activists. Over 600 protesters disrobed to reveal red T-shirts – carrying the message “No Airport Expansion” – outside the department’s building in Westminster in central London. They then started throwing paper airplanes at the building. Outcomes: Part of a larger campaign, this action got a lot of media and was widely attended including by Liberal Democrat deputy leader Vince Cable. A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We had a consultation on airport expansion and we are now considering views from 70,000 people and expect to decide on Heathrow later this year.” The success of this event and the momentum it helped build by expanding participants helped advance the group’s goals. Eventually, the plans for the third runway were scrapped.

PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL

Environment

DA TACTICS USED

Social disobedience

CASE NARRATIVE WRITER

SUCCESS METRICS

10 / 12

(CONC) Concessions were made

(MC) Media Coverage

(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists

(OR) Opponent response

(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public

(PUN) Punishment favored the activists

(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent

(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists

(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public

Laugtivism

PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN

3 / 3

Activist group continued working together after the action

Encouraged more participants to join the movement

Internally replicated by the same movement

RESOURCES

Project documentation

Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook

Case study documentation

Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset

CC BY 4.0 Deed, Attribution 4.0 International

SOURCES

BBC News. 2008. “Paper planes in Heathrow protest
,” Retrieved July 22, 2023. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7486883.stm).

Alicea, Julio. 2010. “English residents and environmentalists prevent Heathrow Airport expansion, 2002 – 2010,” Global Nonviolent Action Database. Retrieved July 22, 2023. (https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/index.php/content/english-residents-and-environmentalists-prevent-heathrow-airport-expansion-2002-2010).

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