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Germany: Hamburg airport closed after man drives onto runway to create 'hostage situation'

Germany: Hamburg airport closed after man drives onto runway to create 'hostage situation'

An aerial view of Helmut Schmidt Airport in Hamburg, Germany,

An unidentified man along with a 4-year-old child drove through Germany's Hamburg airport, following which the police said that they were dealing with a hostage situation. Police initially claimed that the man was armed and had also fired shots, an assertion they later did not confirm.

The airport's operations have been closed indefinitely after the incident which occurred at 8 pm local time (or 12:30 pm, Indian Standard Time).

A police spokesperson said that the car with the 35-year-old man and 4-year-old child was parked under a plane.

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Hamburg Airport informed through a post on X: "The police action continues. The airport is still cordoned off over a large area and cannot be reached. Individual morning flights have already been canceled. Please monitor the flight status and contact the airline if necessary."

Reports said that SWAT teams as well as senior police officerswere at the scene late on Saturday (Nov 4). The police personnel were reportedly using a Turkish translator to communicate with the man in question.

A spokesperson for the airport said 27 flights had been affected. But later, Hamburg airport authorities said that 286 flights with around 34,500 passengers had been scheduled for Sunday (Nov 5).

(With inputs from agencies)