German police evacuated Hamburg Airport on Friday following a security breach that forced hundreds of travelers to vacate the terminals and triggered an extensive search expected to last for hours.
A Federal Police spokesperson said the airport was cleared entirely so specialized teams could sweep multiple secure zones. Authorities noted it was too early to predict when normal operations would resume.
The incident began when an individual pressed an emergency button on a door in Terminal 2, gaining unauthorized access to the airport's secure airside zone, the Bild newspaper reported. The suspect was subsequently detained and taken to an airport police station.
Despite the arrest, authorities ordered a comprehensive sweep of the secure perimeter as a precaution, the daily reported. All passengers past security checkpoints were forced to leave the secure zone, and those already boarded on aircraft were ordered to disembark, halting all departures.