Hamburg airport hostage situation ends as suspect leaves car with daughter

The suspect was arrested and the girl appeared to be unharmed, police say

The suspect surrenders to police at Hamburg aiport as his daughter is taken from the scene. Getty Images

The hostage situation at Hamburg airport has ended, with the suspect and his daughter leaving the car where he was holding her, German police have said.

The incident began at about 8pm on Saturday, when the man, 35, rammed his car through the security area.

The man fired two shots into the air and threw burning bottles out of his vehicle before barricading himself inside with his four-year-old child, police said.

A police representative said the child's mother told them the father had been in contact with her.

A “custody dispute” was believed to be the catalyst for the incident, the representative added.

But after negotiations with psychologists and officers trained to handle negotiations, the man surrendered without any resistance, police said.

"The hostage situation is over," the city's police force wrote on X on Sunday afternoon.

"The suspect got out of the car with his daughter. The man was arrested by the emergency services without resistance. The child appears to be unharmed."

Nobody was injured during the stand-off because all passengers evacuated the airport, police said.

The mother of the abducted girl arrived at the airport on Sunday morning and was receiving psychological support, German news agency dpa reported.

A paediatrician was also at the airport to look after the girl when the crisis ended, dpa reported.

The man brought his car to a halt underneath a Turkish Airlines plane. Bild newspaper reported the man was a Turkish citizen.

More than 100 flights were cancelled and several planes rerouted. Thousands of travellers have been affected by the stand-off and hundreds were put up at hotels close by.

Hamburg airport authorities said 286 flights with about 34,500 passengers had been scheduled for Sunday.

The airport said preparations were under way to reopen the airport as soon as possible.

Updated: November 05, 2023, 2:27 PM