Campaigners in Italy have scored a fabulous victory against airport expansion. There were plans to turn Siena’s Ampugnano runway, currently just an airstrip with just a handful of flights a week, into a commercial airport bringing short-haul operators such as Ryanair into the area.
It would have devastated the Tuscany countryside around Siena – amongst some of the most tranquil areas left in Europe. Local people, fighting to preserve their way of life, organised a feisty campaign which brought together local residents, students and politicians from the Greens and the Left.
Siena has a long history of radical protest and this campaign both tapped into and maintained that proud tradition. Campaigners made links with other airport campaigns across Europe, organised colourful, high-profile demonstrations, questioned the economic need for the airport. Critically, they exposed the murky links between the local council, the main bank in Siena and the developers of the airport.
The decision of the authorities not to proceed with the airport is a triumph for local people who, when faced with the threat, chose not to dance to the authorities' tune but to pro-actively take them on, to challenge, to set the agenda and to expose their corruption. A great example for campaigners everywhere.
