Hamburg Airport hostage standoff 'over' say police as man arrested

The hostage situation at Hamburg Airport is now 'over,' according to authorities

A man has been arrested after holding his four-year-old daughter hostage in a car at Hamburg Airport for 18 hours.

The airport in the northern German city had been closed to passengers and flights cancelled since Saturday night after a vehicle broke through a security gate and drove onto the runway.

Police said the man was armed and that he fired twice into the air with a weapon as he entered the premises at around 8pm.

The man drove the vehicle just outside a terminal building and parked it under a plane.

Authorities said the man’s wife had previously contacted them about a child abduction.

Hamburg police tweeted that “the hostage situation is over. The suspect has left the car with his daughter... The child appears to be unharmed.”

Police also said that “the man was arrested by the emergency services without resistance.”

The 35-year-old man had his four-year-old daughter inside the car whom he had reportedly taken by force from the mother in a possible custody battle, said police.

A psychologist had been negotiating with the man for 18 hours. Nobody was injured during the standoff since all passengers had evacuated the airport, police said.

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

A pediatrician also reportedly arrived at the airport to look after the girl once the hostage-taking is over.

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

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