Members of charities from the Woodland Trust to Friends of the Earth may be banned from Heathrow and parts of London’s transport network if a legal attempt to prevent a protest is successful, it has been claimed.

Groups opposed to airport expansion are outraged at what they see as a heavy-handed legal challenge by BAA. The campaigners claim that the airport operator has gone to “ludicrous” lengths to try to ban “millions of people” from going anywhere near Heathrow.

BAA is seeking an injunction next Wednesday against the planned Camp for Climate Action protest at the airport on August 14-21. BAA says that it has a duty to protect the travelling public from disruption.

The campaign groups that are intending to protest claim that BAA has resorted to “legal bullying”. They say that millions of Britons could be banned from the airport, the Piccadilly Line of the Tube, parts of the mainline rail network and sections of the M25 and M4 motorways if it is believed that they are going to protest in the area.

They say that the injunction will apply not only to Hacan, the group that opposes Heathrow expansion, and to the No Third Runway Action Group (NoTrag), but would also seek to ban organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Woodland Trust.

John Stewart, the Hacan chairman, said: “Our members are furious. We are not a direct action organisation. Isn’t it time for BAA to face up to the fact that Heathrow is big enough already, rather than trying to get this ridiculous injunction? Instead of rational argument, BAA has resorted to legal bullying.”

Christine Shilling, the NoTrag press secretary, said: “It’s time BAA got it straight. We need protecting from them. They intend to bulldoze our homes, our schools, destroy our communities, erase our history and ruin our lives. But somehow we are now the threat and not them. It’s an Alice-in-Wonderland logic.”

Benedict Southworth, the director of the World Development Movement, said that the injunction was “insulting and ludicrous beyond belief”.

Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, said: “This heavy-handed attempt to stifle protest shows how out of touch they are about people’s concerns about climate change. The aviation industry should scale down its proposals for airport expansion at Heathrow and across the UK.”

A BAA spokesman said: “We respect people’s right to protest within the bounds of the law and would invite protesters to similarly respect the rights of passengers.”