Hostage crisis ends at Hamburg airport in Germany

By Stefan J. Bos  

At Germany's major Hamburg Airport, security forces have been busy dealing with a tense hostage situation.

An armed man drove his car onto the tarmac here and parked near a passenger plane.

The suspect reportedly shot his weapon twice in the air and threw burning bottles from the vehicle, likely explaining the fires nearby.

But police say he eventually gave himself up to authorities "without resistance" after 18 hours of tense negotiations, while all flights were canceled.

The child he took with him appeared to be unharmed.

Hamburg police spokeswoman Sandra Levgruen recalled that the airport of Germany's second-largest city had been on high alert.

"At around 8 pm on Saturday, a 35-year-old man drove his car through the gate and into the tarmac of Hamburg airport. He apparently had his 4-year-old daughter with him," she said.

Close to passenger aircraft

She recalled that the vehicle was "very close to a passenger plane" but added that all passengers were safely evacuated.

The suspect's wife was reported to have alleged a possible child abduction.

Police said they believed "that a custody dispute was the background" to the hostage crisis."

While the hostage situation is now over, questions will be asked as to how a man could reach the tarmac of one of Germany's main airports.

Europe had been on high alert for acts of terrorism as the Israel-Hamas war escalated and amid rising antisemitism, including in Germany, a development condemned by the country's leadership and opposition.