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Flights Remain Canceled at Hamburg Airport on Hostage Incident - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- A hostage situation at Hamburg Airport ended Sunday afternoon with the suspect surrendering to authorities and the child he held for almost 18 hours appearing unharmed, according to police.
The male suspect had barricaded himself in a car on the tarmac Saturday evening after driving through the gates of the airport with his young daughter.
Preparations are underway for a rapid resumption of flight operations in close coordination with the security forces. Nevertheless, further delays and cancellations should be expected, the airport said.
The suspect, who was armed, broke through a barrier with his vehicle Saturday and drove onto the airfield. He demanded that he and his four-year-old daughter be flown to Turkey, according to newspaper Bild. Authorities said the man’s wife had previously contacted them about a child abduction.
According to the airport, flight operations were suspended at 20:24 local time on Saturday. The airport reported 61 canceled flights in the morning.
According to Bild, the hostage-taker drove directly to the airfield and stopped next to a Turkish Airlines passenger plane. The police assume that a custody dispute is behind the hostage-taking.
A total of 139 departures and 147 arrivals with about 34,500 passengers were planned Sunday at Hamburg Airport, Germany’s fifth largest by passenger traffic.