The intrusion of a person of Turkish origin and a hostage into the security area of ​​Hamburg Airport once again highlights the precarious security situation at German airports. At least since they were repeatedly hit by climate adhesives, the general public should know that there is an acute need to catch up. 

Regardless of the crime that has been committed since Friday evening, the core problem lies in a certain arrogance that in Germany people generally see themselves as the measure of all things when it comes to aviation and security. The climate stickers have repeatedly shown how easy it is to get onto the apron and cause mischief there. The monitoring and thus security of the areas is inadequate at many German airports. This is also because savings were made over a long period of time. This includes both infrastructure and staffing. 

In addition, depending on the airport's classification, it varies whether the operator itself - for example with private security guards - or the federal police has to ensure the necessary security. Sometimes a combination is used, because the hourly wage of a security employee is lower than that of a police officer. The areas are large and you can't have a guard standing at every inch, but there are numerous other options. 

The male Turk who illegally entered the security area of ​​Hamburg Airport in a motor vehicle shortly after 20 p.m. on Saturday evening did not come without warning. His wife, who was in an argument, informed the police. In addition, according to local media reports, he was driving without license plates. Actually, he should have been stopped before he entered the area. But that's exactly what didn't happen, so he was able to get to a Turkish Airlines plane. 

Flight operations were suspended at around 20:24 p.m. The area including the terminal also had to be evacuated. The vehicle was parked directly at a Turkish Airlines plane. The intruder is said to have taken his four-year-old daughter hostage and demanded that she be flown to Turkey. According to police, incendiary items were also thrown out of the car. For this reason, the aircraft was sprayed with water as a precaution. 

“We can confirm that a person gained unauthorized access to the airport’s security area yesterday evening and used brute force,” says Katja Bromm, Head of Communications at Hamburg Airport. “Air traffic at Hamburg Airport therefore had to be temporarily stopped for safety reasons. The consequences will be felt by everyone who wants to depart or arrive in Hamburg today. We therefore ask passengers to continually check their flight status and contact their airline if necessary.” 

A total of 286 flights (139 departures and 147 arrivals) with around 34.500 passengers were planned for today. According to current status, 126 flights (70 departures and 56 arrivals) have already been canceled. 5 arrivals were diverted to other airports. There will be further cancellations and delays throughout the day. According to current status, 6 departures and 4 arrivals were canceled yesterday, Saturday. 17 arriving aircraft were diverted to other airports. 27 flight movements with around 3.200 passengers were affected. 

In any case, Hamburg Airport rejects any security problems and points out that the reaction chain worked. Remarkably, the airport emphasizes the size of the area, but does not address the fact that the hostage takers should have been intercepted before they entered. To be fair, it must be mentioned here that the so-called monopoly of violence lies with the state and therefore with the police. If anything, this should have stopped the man - whatever - before the entrance to the gate, which was breached. Nevertheless, the Hamburg incident is an urgent warning to politicians that security at German airports urgently needs to be improved. Apparently not enough has been learned from the climate glue disruptions. 

The hostage taker only gave up after about 18 hours and was able to be taken away by the police. Flight operations could be resumed. Hamburg Airport said: “The police action has ended. Preparations are underway to resume flight operations as quickly as possible. We are in close coordination with the security forces as to when the access roads and terminals will be reopened. However, significant cancellations and delays continue to occur today. Please monitor your flight status and contact your airline if necessary.”