As of: November 5th, 2023 1:43 a.m
An armed driver entered the Hamburg airport premises on Saturday evening. Flight operations were completely stopped. According to police, the man has a four-year-old girl hostage in his car. A custody dispute may have escalated.
The gunman apparently broke through this barrier when he raced onto the airport apron.
An armed man broke through a gate with his vehicle around 8 p.m. and drove onto the airport apron, said Thomas Gerbert, spokesman for the federal police. The man shot twice into the air after entering the area. Pictures from the airport that evening showed a damaged barrier through which the man had apparently raced. The man’s wife had previously reported to the state police about possible child abduction, the spokesman said.
VIDEO: Situation at Hamburg Airport: Interview with the police (4 min)
Custody dispute probably background to the crime – family from Stade
The police assume that a custody dispute is the background to the hostage-taking. According to what we know so far, the girl that the 35-year-old man was with was staying with her mother in Stade on Saturday. It is assumed that the father “took the child away” from the mother and possibly put him in the car using force before driving to Hamburg and onto the airport tarmac, a police spokeswoman said late in the evening.
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State and federal police at the airport
Strong forces from the state and federal police are on site, said police spokesman Gerbert, including a special operations team and police psychologists. They were near the vehicle. This also includes the Federal Police’s Evidence and Arrest Unit. “They are very robustly equipped,” said Gerbert.
Police negotiate with the hostage taker
Special police forces stand in front of the “Survivor” emergency vehicle at Hamburg Airport.
The police say they are in contact with the gunman. “We have criminal psychologists on duty and we are currently talking to the perpetrator. We are relying on a negotiated solution,” said a police spokeswoman when asked early Sunday morning. The man is “facing” the investigators, the spokeswoman said. In addition, it is an “absolutely good sign” that he has been in contact with the emergency services for so long. “He wants to talk to us and we initially rate that as very positive.” The man is being negotiated in Turkish. The suspicion that a second child was in the man’s control was not confirmed.
Man throws “some kind of Molotov cocktail”
The man threw two burning bottles out of the car, “some kind of Molotov cocktails,” said Gerbert. There was no damage and the airport fire department was able to extinguish the bottles.
Airport cleared, aircraft evacuated
The plane on the apron, under which the man had parked his car, was evacuated. The airport was later completely cleared and a large area was cordoned off, and the last aircraft standing on the tarmac were also evacuated.
There was initially no information about possible injuries. The police also do not see any acute danger to third parties. A plane parked on the apron has now been cleared. The passengers from the evacuated planes were taken to a nearby hotel. A total of 3,200 passengers were affected.
AUDIO: Hamburg Airport closed: The situation on site (5 min)
Takeoffs and landings completely canceled
On the Airport homepage It was said late in the evening: “Due to a police measure on the apron at Hamburg Airport, there will be no more take-offs and landings today, November 4th.” All affected passengers should contact the airline directly.
Already two incidents this year
Hamburg airport had already been closed in October, but at that time because of a threat of attack on a plane from Tehran to Hamburg. In July, climate activists from the Last Generation group shut down Hamburg airport for hours when they entered the area on bicycles.
