A French environmental activist has been arrested after sneaking on to the tarmac at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport and trying to block an Airbus A319 from taking off, officials said Tuesday.

Pierre-Emmanuel Neurohr, 44, a jobless former Greenpeace employee, is to appear in court on September 18, following two other convictions last month for similar stunts, judicial sources said.

Neurohr was freed on bail and forbidden from going to any French airport pending his trial.

He was arrested during his latest attempt around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) Monday while trying to prevent the Air France plane taking off from Charles de Gaulle, airport sources said.

The airport is Europe's second busiest and the seventh busiest in the world.

Neurohr was twice convicted last month of trespassing and interference with aviation charges for attempting to block planes on the airport's tarmac on June 6 and June 8. He was given three-month suspended sentences and fined.

During his last court appearance, Neurohr said he was acting to prevent aviation from damaging the environment.

"I have been working with environmental protection groups for 25 years, for 25 years I have seen things get worse. I think we must act," he had said.