BERLIN

Three climate activists were arrested overnight after entering an airfield in western Germany where Chancellor Friedrich Merz keeps his private aircraft, police said Thursday.

The activists, aged 23, 28, and 56, trespassed onto the Arnsberg-Menden airfield intending to paint Chancellor Merz's plane pink as part of a climate demonstration, according to police. They also brought a bicycle to leave near the aircraft as a climate-friendly alternative.

The activists told public broadcaster WDR that their planned action aimed to draw attention to climate issues and what they describe as the need for political leaders to demonstrate climate-conscious behavior.

"The climate catastrophe is escalating, hunger, heat and natural disasters are costing people their lives," one of the activists said. "And at the same time Friedrich Merz is flying around in his own plane. The chancellor should be setting an example for all of us."

Merz, an amateur pilot who holds a valid pilot's license, keeps his private plane at the airfield near his hometown of Arnsberg in the Sauerland region. According to local media reports, he owns a twin-engine propeller aircraft.