On Saturday, march 9th, the stall of SkyTeam/AIR FRANCE at the Internationale Tourismus Börse ITB (the world´s leading Travel Trade Show) in Berlin was visited by a group of activists from the Animal Liberation Movement. They did this because AIR FRANCE is the last european airline that still transports animals for vivisection.
After some hours of distributing leaflets to interested fair visitors, at 12 noon banners were unfurled infront of the stall with the sayings "AIR FRANCE - We are flying monkeys into death" and "AIR FRANCE - airline for “laboratoryanimals”.
While shouting all the time the activists also threw small pieces of paper where you could read:"AIR FRANCE – AIR SOUFFRANCE. AIR FRANCE – KLM is one of the last airlines that still transports monkeys, dogs and other so called laboratory animals. These animals are condemned to a life of captivity and suffering!"
The papers were written alternately in English and German and covered the whole floor infront of the SkyTeam/AIR FRANCE stall and therefor draw the attention of the fair visitors, who were apparently amused , interested and positive towards the action.
The employees of SkyTeam were overstrained and suprised, after a while they started to attack the banners and tried to pulled them away. One employee even got a pair of scissors and cut through a banner, which can be quite dangerous in such a scuffle.
Before the empolyees intervened the activists could shout and inform the visitors for about five minutes, after ten minutes security men arrived and tried to pull and push the activists in the courtyard of the fair. Unfortunately, they have succeeded with three of them, while the others were able to free themselves and escape.
Left behind were confused employees, informed and entertained visitors, many pieces of paper on the ground and the message to Air France, that, wherever they may be, the animal liberation movement will be there, until the business with the vivisection industry and the transports of animals for vivisection at AIR FRANCE is terminated.
