Germany: Hamburg Airport halts flights after armed man opens fire
Nov 04, 2023
Berlin [Germany], November 5 : All flights at Hamburg's airport in Germany were halted and entrances to all the terminals were sealed after an armed man breached a gate with his vehicle and opened fire on the premises on Saturday, Russian News Agency TASS reported, citing Germany's Bild am Sonntag.
According to the German newspaper, an unidentified man was seen in a car in front of Terminal One.
He broke through the security barrier and drove into the aircraft maintenance area. Numerous police officers have arrived at the scene.
The report added that besides the man, there were two children in the car, TASS reported.
"Due to a police measure on the apron of Hamburg Airport, there will be no take-offs and landings today, November 4. All affected passengers should contact the airline directly," the airport said on its website.
The gunman broke through a gate at about 8pm (19:00 GMT) on Saturday and drove onto the apron of the airport, where aircraft are parked, unloaded and refuelled, Al Jazeera reported citing federal police spokesperson Thomas Gerbert telling the dpa news agency.
"There is currently a major police operation on the tarmac at Hamburg Airport," wrote Hamburg police on X.
"We are on site with a large contingent of emergency services. We are currently assuming a static hostage situation," they added.
The police said no one appeared to be injured, but the airport announced it was closed for takeoffs and landings, according to Al Jazeera.
It further reported citing a spokesperson for the airport said 27 flights had been affected.
After firing the shots, the person threw two burning bottles out of the vehicle, police said.
Before security officers detected the intruder at the airport, his wife had called the police to report that her husband was driving to the airport with the children, TASS reported.
The woman claimed that the children had been kidnapped. According to the latest reports, the man fired two shots near the airport from the car and made off with the children.
Meanwhile, the arriving flights are being rerouted to other airports. Police helicopters have been deployed and the GSG 9 police force, which specializes in rescuing hostages, has been called in, TASS reported.
