Father and Daughter in 18-hour Hostage Situation at Hamburg Airport

On Saturday, November 4 at 8:00 p.m. (19:00 GMT), a father, 35, drove through the security barrier at Hamburg Airport (HAM). He proceeded to park on the apron, under a Turkish Airlines B737-900ER. 

The 35-year-old father, who kidnapped his daughter, only 4 years old, fired multiple shots into the air. While it's unclear if the man had explosive devices with him, he did throw two burning bottles out of the car. 

The hostage situation lasted around 18 hours with a large number of officers at the scene including a psychologist and negotiators. It has been reported that the negotiations with the man was held in Turkish via a translator. But at the current time, it is unclear what his connection to the country is. 

The man gave himself up without resistance according to police and was arrested. The child appears to be unharmed. 

A spokesperson told German media on Sunday morning: “We have good contact with the perpetrator.” 

The police said they were positive about the fact that the dialogues were continuing for so long, saying: “That’s an absolutely good sign.”

According to police, the situation was caused due to a custody dispute. The mother had reported the 4-year-old had been taken, prior to the incident. 

Hamburg police spokeswoman Sandra Levgruen said earlier on Sunday that the man had not agreed with some decisions made by authorities about the custody agreement and wished to take his child with him to Turkey. 

"I wish the mother, the child, and her family a lot of strength to cope with this terrible experience," Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on X. 

The airport is working to resume operations as fast as possible. With a total of 34,500 passengers and a total of 286 flights had been scheduled for Sunday.