Hamburg airport remains closed as police deal with ‘hostage situation’
HAMBURG, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 05: Officers of German BFE police unit stand on the apron of Hamburg Airport while passengers are evacuated on November 5, 2023 in Hamburg, Germany. According to media reports, a man armed with a gun drove a car through a perimeter gate onto the tarmac, where he attempted to set several fires. He reportedly also has two children in the car with him and is now in a standoff with police. All flights from the airport have been cancelled and approaching flights diverted. (Photo by Gregor Fischer/Getty Images)
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Hamburg airport remained closed on Sunday, authorities said, as police dealt with a hostage situation they say likely involves a custody dispute.
The airport closed for all takeoffs and landings on Saturday evening after police arrived in large numbers on the scene to deal with a man who drove through a barrier onto the grounds of the airport with a child.
The car with the 35-year-old man and 4-year-old girl was parked under a plane, a police spokesperson said.
04 November 2023, Hamburg: A dark-colored car is parked under a Turkish Airlines plane at the airport. Hamburg Airport has been closed after a vehicle entered the premises. A gunman had broken through a gate with his vehicle and had already fired twice into the air, a spokesman for the federal police said on Saturday evening. Photo: Jonas Walzberg/dpa (Photo by Jonas Walzberg/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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“The operation continues. Our negotiators are in contact with the person in the car,” the police posted on Sunday on the social media platform X.
Police were communicating through a translator in Turkish, a spokesperson said. Police said the child’s mother had told them the father had been in contact with her.
Police would not confirm their earlier statements that the man was armed and had fired shots.
Hamburg airport authorities said that 286 flights with around 34,500 passengers had been scheduled for Sunday.
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