A quiet morning for the Lufthansa staff at Heathrow's Terminal 2 is rudely interupted by the arrival of some unexpected customers.

Unfurling banners, handing out leaflets and chanting slogans a dozen activists from Bristol bring the work to a standstill.

They believe Amanj Gafor, a 34-year-old Iraqi Kurd, is being deported to Germany.

They urge passengers to refuse to sit down once on the plane, forcing the airline to take the asylum seeker off.

Activists have staged pickets at check-in desks

Some travellers ignore them, others take leaflets. "It's a good idea," said one German traveller.

Another wants more information but declares: "If we can make some sort of gesture to stand up for human rights, I think that's a positive thing."

Police arrive in numbers and break up the demonstration. They escort activists out of the terminal, one man is restrained and placed in a police van.

A senior officer reveals Amanj Gafor was deported from Gatwick earlier the same day.

The protest has failed in its main aim, but campaigner Liza Schuster remains undaunted.

She said: "Because of their profile...they are vulnerable to this kind of direct action and we'll try anything that works."

The government is to blame, she says. "Detain them very quickly deport them as fast as possible is their method, so we have no choice but come to the airport and try to stop deportations. There is, on the internet, a growing campaign."

When asked to justify her protest against the airlines, which are just carrying the passengers they are asked to, she replied: "Airlines then are allowing themselves to be used."

Co-ordinated protests

But these protests are not isolated examples. According to asylum expert Dr Alice Bloch from London's Goldsmith's College, Europe-wide groups are becoming increasingly co-ordinated.

The effect of the actions is less certain. "The government might take more extreme actions against asylum seekers and increase deportations - many deportations happen quite illicitly already," said Dr Bloch.

The protests at least inconvenience and at worst possibly endanger the passengers and crew of aircraft

Home Office spokesman

The Home Office has said the protests are the "irresponsible actions of a small number of people to prevent the proper and lawful removal from this country of people who have no claim to be here".

"They at least inconvenience and at worst possibly endanger the passengers and crew of aircraft," said a spokesman.

'Adverse publicity'

IATA the body which represents airlines agrees.

"There is some dismay on the part of the airlines, because they have nothing to do with the deportation processes," said spokesman Tim Goodyear.

Airlines, he asserts, won't change the way they treat asylum seekers and will continue to deal with protesters as they would any unruly passengers.

"If there's a group of passengers not behaving themselves...it is the duty of the pilot to get these people arrested and taken off the plane," he said.

That doesn't deter protester Liza Schuster though, who says the demonstrations will form part of a much wider campaign.

She added: "I think it is likely that airlines will decide if it is too expensive for them in terms of adverse publicity and they will decide not to deport."