Nationwide protests target new deportation terminals and stricter asylum policy
Activist coalitions are organizing demonstrations across major German cities on Saturday to oppose the expansion of deportation facilities at airports.
On Saturday, a coalition of refugee rights organisations will stage protests in several German cities to highlight the government’s increasingly harsh asylum measures. Demonstrations are planned in Berlin, Leipzig/Halle, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main and Munich, with additional gatherings near detention sites in Hannover, Darmstadt and Büren. The Bavarian Refugee Council will also protest the recently approved return terminal at Munich Airport, intended for daily individual deportations and charter flights.
Similar terminals are slated to open at Berlin’s BER by mid-2029 and at Frankfurt by 2027, with one site located in a forested area separate from the main runways. Critics argue that the new “external border” procedures allow asylum seekers to be detained at airports and expelled without entering the country, effectively turning airports into detention hubs. Charter flights, which bypass airline crew resistance, have already been used to deport groups from Leipzig/Halle.
Why it matters
The protests underscore growing public concern over Germany's tightening deportation practices and the use of airports as detention sites.
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