Hamburg airport remains closed as police deal with 'hostage situation'

Police have responded to a suspected hostage situation at Hamburg airport and all flights remain suspended.

Yesterday (Saturday 4 November), Hamburg Police reported 'a major police operation' taking place on the tarmac at Hamburg Airport in Germany.

Joined by 'a large contingent of emergency services' the police reported it was dealing with 'a static hostage situation' after a 35-year-old man drove through a barrier onto the airport's grounds with a four-year-old child in the back of the vehicle, according to a police spokesperson.

The hostage situation saw passengers evacuated from the airport and has resulted in both take-offs and landings being halted until further notice - today, 286 flights were scheduled and 34,500 passengers set to fly, according to airport authorities.

Police report the man drove his vehicle into where airplanes are normally kept, parking under a plane at around 8pm local time yesterday evening.

As per the BBC, the 35-year-old man threw burning bottles from the vehicle as well as shooting a weapon twice in the air.

Hamburg police said it believes 'a custody dispute is the background to this operation' - the four-year-old believed to be the man's child.

The man's wife is reported as having contacted authorities saying her child was missing.

The stand-off between authorities and the suspect have now lasted over 12 hours, Hamburg Airport and police taking to X - formerly known as Twitter - with the latest updates this morning.

Getty Images/ Gregor Fischer

Hamburg Airport's X account gave the latest update at 8am this morning (Sunday, 5 November)

The post reads: "The situation at the airport remains unchanged, the police operation continues. Flight operations will remain suspended until further notice.

"The police ask all passengers and those collecting them NOT to come to the airport. The access roads are largely blocked off."

X/ @PolizeiHamburg

Hamburg Police also took to X to give an update at 10am this morning.

The post reads: "Update 10:00 a.m. The operational situation remains static and negotiations are ongoing.

"So it still applies: The @HamburgAirport is blocked; Wide-area road closures have been set up."

A spokesperson said a Turkish translator is at the airport to help communicate with the suspect, alongside psychologists, officers specialised in negotiations and special forces.

A police spokesperson told German media, as quoted by The Guardian, authorities have 'good contact with the perpetrator' and it's 'an absolutely good sign' they've been in discussion for so long.