Police in the northern German city of Hamburg are continuing to investigate a suspected hostage situation at the airport after a man drove through a security barrier onto the tarmac. According to police, there were at least two people in the car, including a child.
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According to local authorities, air traffic at Hamburg Airport remained blocked on Sunday due to an apparent hostage situation on the tarmac after the father allegedly kidnapped a child as part of a family dispute.
“The police operation continues, air traffic will remain suspended until further notice,” wrote the management of the airport in northern Germany on X – formerly Twitter.
“We have mobilized police psychologists and are currently talking to the perpetrator; we are relying on a negotiated solution,” police spokeswoman Sandra Levgrün told NDR.
She called it a “very good sign” that the father had remained in contact with the authorities “for so long.”
At around 8:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT) on Saturday evening, the gunman drove his car through an airport gate onto the tarmac, shot twice into the air and threw two lit bottles, a police spokesman said.
Police said they believe a “child custody dispute” was the cause of the incident.
According to authorities, a father and his child remain in the car. The Bild daily newspaper reported that the man was 35 years old and a Turkish citizen, and that the child was a little girl aged four.
Police said the negotiations took place in Turkish.
According to reports, the wife of the driver of the car had informed the police about the kidnapping of the child.
On Saturday evening, 17 flights landing in Hamburg with a total of 3,200 people on board had to be diverted. In principle, 286 flights with 34,500 passengers are planned for Sunday, but it is unlikely that one will be able to land until the situation is resolved.