German police have said they are dealing with a “hostage situation” at Hamburg airport, with local media reporting that it involved an armed man with two children in his vehicle.
“There is currently a major police operation on the tarmac at Hamburg airport,” wrote Hamburg police on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. “We are on site with a large contingent of emergency services. We are currently assuming a static hostage situation.”
The airport said on its website that take-offs and landings “are not possible at the moment due to a police operation”.
At around 8pm local time, a gunman had rammed his car through the security area on to the tarmac, firing two shots in the air and flinging two burning bottles out of the vehicle, a police spokesperson said.
At least two individuals – including a child – were in the car, police said. The wife of the driver had placed an emergency call alerting police to the abduction of her child, the spokesperson added. The car remained parked in the apron area of the airport.
Police added later on Saturday that they believed “that a custody dispute is the background to this operation”.
Psychologists as well as officers specialised in negotiations are on site, said police, adding that they were in contact with the individual in the vehicle.
A spokesperson for the airport said 27 flights had been affected.