Airports were not spared by the weekend of protests seen in France, as some of the “yellow vests” advocate for plane fuel taxation.

In Nantes, France, fifty “yellow vest” protesters trespassed twice on the apron of Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), on December 1, 2018, causing a short interruption of traffic.

A few hundred protesters were in the area to block cars headed to the airport. A small group of them broke the security fence and were seen running around parked planes.

They were taken away from the apron after less than ten minutes. The police made no arrests. “Landings and takeoffs were temporarily suspended as a security measure,” said the local authorities. The protesters eventually left for Nantes city center.

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) was also affected by the “yellow vest” protests on December 1, 2018. About 200 individuals blocked the access to both terminals for several minutes, before establishing a “filtering” roadblock.

Another small protest was reported at Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport (CHR) in the Centre region. After three consecutive weekends of protests, it was the first time that airports were directly targeted. On November 17, 2018, an access road to Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS) was blocked for the day.