Krings: Stricter penalties for airport blockades necessary
The recent airport blockades have prompted calls for stricter penalties by Günter Krings, the legal policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. Krings highlights the impact of these blockades, not only preventing people from enjoying their well-deserved vacations but also endangering lives when emergency flights are unable to land. He argues that it is imperative for the legislator to respond urgently to this issue. The offense of endangering air traffic must be adapted and intensified. Federal Minister of Transportation, Volker Wissing, rightly demands maximum severity from the legislator. However, his reference to the current draft bill by the federal government is misleading. Upon closer examination, the government's proposal turns out to be a deception: The new criminal provision, aimed at penalizing unauthorized entry into the airside and security areas of airports, introduces a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine. This corresponds to the punishment range for property damage, which is already being committed by the perpetrators through the cutting of wire fences. Such a punishment is unreasonably lenient. A noticeably higher minimum sentence is necessary to achieve deterrent penalties.
The self-righteousness of these perpetrators is hard to surpass. Therefore, stronger civil law measures should also be utilized. I strongly recommend that all airport operators collect the claims of all affected passengers against the blockaders, in order to more effectively recover them. These civil law consequences can still become effective, even after the punishments have long been served, as debts resulting from intentional and punishable acts cannot be discharged through personal bankruptcy. In such cases, the perpetrators may have to repay their debts for a lifetime, if necessary."
Background: The CDU/CSU parliamentary group represents the centrist Volksparteien in parliament and is committed to freedom, societal cohesion, and individual responsibility. Based on Christian values, the Union parliamentary group advocates for a strong liberal-democratic constitutional state, a social and ecological market economy, integration into the Western community of values, and the unification of Europe. Friedrich Merz is the chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.
Source: Berlin
