BA's first flight to Newquay picketed by Greenpeace

Greenpeace activists stormed a check-in queue at Gatwick airport and urged passengers to take the train instead of boarding a British Airways flight to Newquay.

The pressure group unsuccessfully offered 34 passengers booked on the 12.50pm flight to Cornwall free train tickets. They made the same gesture to 17 passengers queuing at Newquay to fly back.

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One protester brandished a surf board with the message "wipe out domestic flights". But the campaigners were led away by police before giving any train tickets away.

The flights have been relaunched by BA after a three-year absence. Greenpeace accused the airline of being an "irresponsible" company that is "flying in the face of climate science".

They also gave out leaflets carrying the image of two aeroplanes forming a rude hand gesture which read: "BA claims to be concerned about climate change. But the growth in short-haul routes undermines our chances of stopping climate change."

Emily Armistead, a campaigner at Gatwick, said passengers had been open to discussing the issues.

"If BA is serious about green issues, they would ground these flights," she said. "Passengers were really surprised to hear that taking a plane was 10 times more polluting than a train journey. We are not trying to guilt-trip people. We want to make sure they make the right choices."

But the airline insisted it had made "enormous efforts" to address its impact on climate change, improving fuel efficiency by 27 per cent. BA said: "As an airline, we have made enormous efforts to address our impact on climate change. We are the only airline in the world currently undertaking emissions trading and have lobbied for many years for aviation to be included in the EU emissions trading scheme."

The flight route to Newquay is served by two other airlines. The train costs almost exactly the same as the flight and takes only marginally longer, allowing for check-in times, Greenpeace said.

The group's ticket offer received the backing of Friends of the Earth, while Cornwall's Green Party also condemned the flights. Lindsay Southcombe, a spokeswoman for the Green Party, said: "There are severe additional impacts on Cornwall from dumping passengers at a rural airport with minimal onward transport connections. Inevitably this means more despoliation of our lanes and local environment."

Some standing in the check-in queue remained doubtful. Andrew McParland, a Greenpeace volunteer, said several passengers he had spoken to were apologetic about flying but said the train service had left them disappointed. "One person said he took the train 95 per cent of the time but needed to get to Newquay quickly," he said.

A spokesman from Cornwall County Council said the loss of air services would in effect isolate the region. "Greenpeace is ignoring the needs of ordinary people wanting to visit Cornwall, Cornish residents wanting to go on holiday and small businesses in Cornwall struggling to provide employment," he said.