An ongoing hostage situation has resulted in the continued closure of Hamburg Airport (HAM) in Germany, according to the German police force. The force has confirmed that they are dealing with the situation at Hamburg Airport after an armed man drove his vehicle through a security barrier and onto the airport apron. There are reports that the man had at least one child with him in the vehicle at the time.
Breaking News
“We are on site with a large contingent of emergency services. We are currently assuming a static hostage situation,” Hamburg police confirmed on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
At around 8pm local time on Saturday evening, a man – as yet unnamed by the German police force – drove his car through the security area onto the airport’s apron – inside the critical area – and fired two shots into the air. He also threw two burning bottles out of the vehicle, according to a police spokesperson.
According to the police, at least two individuals, including a child, were in the car, and the police spokesperson added that the wife of the driver had placed an emergency call alerting police to the abduction of her child. Police have confirmed that they believe a custody dispute to be the driving force of this incident.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, police confirmed that the situation was ongoing. Specialist hostage negotiation officers are on site, along with psychologists, and police have confirmed they are in contact with the driver of the vehicle.
Hamburg Airport Closed
Hamburg Airport confirms on its website that all arrivals and departures remain suspended and that cancellations will continue throughout the day. Local media is reporting that the entire airport has been cleared and a large area cordoned off. Both the airport and German police are asking passengers not to travel to the airport.
On Saturday evening, 17 flights carrying 3200 passengers were diverted away from the airport, and as many as 34500 passengers will be affected by the ongoing delays and cancellations throughout the day on Sunday.
