Security questions were raised today over how two Just Stop Oil activists managed to get into a private area of Stansted Airport and spray orange paint over two planes.
Jennifer Kowalski, 28, and Cole Macdonald, 22, were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after gaining access to the airfield and damaging the private jets.
Just Stop Oil said pop star Taylor Swift's jet had landed at Stansted only hours before, but MailOnline can confirm that her plane was not one of the two targeted.
Swift is believed to have chartered the jet to take her mother Andrea and father Scott to London for her shows at Wembley Stadium from tomorrow until Sunday.
It touched down at about 11pm last night along with an array of goods including a case of wine, before the luggage was transferred into a convoy of seven vehicles.
Just Stop Oil later confirmed that its activists used a website which tracks the location of commercial planes and private jets to confirm that Swift's was there.
Aviation expert Julian Bray told MailOnline this afternoon that because the protesters were entering a protected airport area, they could be prosecuted under the Air Navigation Laws with intent to danger an aircraft, rather than just criminal damage.
Just Stop Oil protesters Jennifer Kowalski (left), 28, and Cole Macdonald (right), 22, after they sprayed orange paint over parked private jets at London Stansted Airport in Essex today
Just Stop Oil protesters spraying orange paint over private jets at Stansted Airport today
Just Stop Oil protesters cut a hole in a fence before spraying orange paint at Stansted today
He continued: 'Harrods Aviation and others who control the private terminal need to rethink security as clearly this is lacking. Essex Police also need to raise their game as they seemed to be unaware of the serious security breach.
'Aircraft concerned will need to be taken out of service, stripped down and forensically examined before repair in case additional perils are found which may affect future operations.
'Really this activity is so dangerous and has to be robustly challenged and custodial sentences handed out. It is that serious a security breach.'
Scott was pictured at Stansted last night after disembarking the jet and is believed to have been accompanied by Andrea, although she was not seen by onlookers.
Just Stop Oil are thought to have staged their attack just after dawn today in a bid to attract maximum publicity in an apparent attempt to target Swift's plane.
Taylor Swift chartered a 2009 Dassault Aviation Falcon 7X jet to take her mother Andrea and father Scott to London and it landed at Stansted Airport at about 10.30pm last night (pictured)
Taylor Swif's father Scott Swift leaves the plane at Stansted Airport last night after its arrival
Luggage was moved from the aircraft into a convoy of seven vehicles at Stansted last night
The items transported to Stansted Airport last night appear to have included a case of Swift's favourite wine produced by Rombauer Vineyards in California's Napa Valley
Footage released by the campaign group showed a pair of activists spraying orange paint over two private jets parked on the ground close to the permitter fence at Stansted – but neither of them was Swift's aircraft, suggesting it was parked in a more secure area of the airport.
Flight tracker records showed the private jet repeatedly linked to Swift – an 11-seater Dassault Falcon 7X – had earlier taken off from her home city of Nashville, Tennessee.
The 560mph plane flew for two hours to Providence next to Rhode Island, either to refuel or pick up her parents if they were not already on board.
It spent 45 minutes on the ground and then took off again for Stansted for a six hours and 14 minute flight, arriving at 10.53pm last night.
Staff at the airport were pictured moving luggage from the plane into a fleet of seven vehicles. The items transported appear to have included a case of Swift's favourite wine produced by Rombauer Vineyards in California's Napa Valley.
Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed orange paint over private jets at Stansted Airport today
Sources at Stansted confirmed that Swift was not on board the jet which is owned by a company called Island Jet, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
Paperwork for the company has suggested that it is linked to Swift, although she is said to also charter it out for private use when she is not flying herself.
Swift is said to charter different planes for her own use when she is on tour for security reasons to avoid her movements being tracked.
As for the protest, Just Stop Oil said that early this morning its activists entered the airfield and painted two private jets using fire extinguishers filled with orange paint.
In a post on X, Just Stop Oil said: 'Jennifer and Cole cut the fence into the private airfield at Stansted where @taylorswift13's jet is parked, demanding an emergency treaty to end fossil fuels by 2030.'
Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on June 7
The accompanying video shows one of the activists cutting a hole in the airfield's metal fence using an angle grinder.
One activist, wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt, can then be seen spraying the fuselage and windows of two parked white planes with orange paint, before both then sit together in front of the planes on the Tarmac.
Essex Police said officers were called at around 5am after reports of people gaining access to a private area of an airfield at Stansted Airport.
Two people had entered an area 'well away from the runway and main passenger terminal' before causing damage to two aircraft.
A 22-year-old woman from Brighton and a 28-year-old woman from Dumbarton have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use or operation of national infrastructure, the force said.
It added the airport and flights are operating as normal.
Chief superintendent Simon Anslow said: 'I would like to reassure passengers and the wider public that we are well prepared and resourced to deal with incidents of this nature.
'Almost immediately after we were made aware of this incident, which took place away from the main passenger terminal, we were on the scene.
'We maintain a constant presence at the airport and this presence will be heightened over the summer period.
'We are not anti protest but we will always take action where criminal acts take place.'
MailOnline has also contacted Stansted for comment.
Macdonald, from Brighton, said: 'We're living in two worlds: one where billionaires live in luxury, able to fly in private jets away from the other, where unliveable conditions are being imposed on countless millions.
One person tried to halt a protest by Just Stop Oil on the Stonehenge stones yesterday
'Meanwhile, this system that is allowing extreme wealth to be accrued by a few, to the detriment of everyone else, is destroying the conditions necessary to support human life in a rapidly accelerating never-ending 'cruel summer'.
'Billionaires are not untouchable, climate breakdown will affect every single one of us.'
Kowalski, a former sustainability manager from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, said: 'Over the years, I've had to realise that even working in sustainability provides me with essentially no ability to make the necessary changes to prevent the complete collapse of our natural systems. I have to take desperate measures to make my voice heard.
'In 2024 we all have to be considering what we can do each day to change the course our society is on. We need an emergency treaty to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.'
Taylor Swift has been condemned by environmentalists for using private jets.
Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21, ran up to Stonehenge at around 12pm yesterday
In 2022, she headlined a list published by British sustainability marketing firm Yard of the 'worst private jet CO2 emission offenders' among celebrities.
Her jet flew 170 times in 2022, with total flight emissions for the year reaching 8,293.54 tonnes, or 1,184.8 times more than the average person, Yard said.
It comes as two Just Stop Oil activists who were arrested at Stonehenge yesterday after the site was sprayed with orange paint have been released on bail.
Wiltshire Police said a man in his 70s and a woman in her 20s had been bailed after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, damaging an ancient monument and deterring a person from engaging in a lawful activity.
Video footage posted on social media yesterday appeared to show two people wearing white shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil approaching the stone circle with canisters and spraying orange powder paint.
Members of the public struggled with the campaigners - named by the group as Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21 - as they appeared to run up to Stonehenge.
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer were united in condemnation of Just Stop Oil after the incident. The Prime Minister described it as a 'disgraceful act of vandalism' while the Labour leader branded the group 'pathetic'.
