Traffic resumes at Germany's Hamburg airport after Iran plane threat

October 9, 20236:01 AM PDTUpdated 2 hours ago

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the chancellery, Berlin, Germany, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

BERLIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Air traffic has resumed at Germany's Hamburg airport, a spokesperson told Reuters on Monday, after a police operation in response to a threat against a plane from Tehran prompted all landings and take-offs to be halted.

A federal police spokesperson earlier said officers, acting on a threat of an attack sent via email, searched a plane with 198 passengers from Tehran that had landed in the northern German city.

The German air force said on its X social media account that it escorted the plane after it entered German airspace east of Berlin due to a bomb threat.

Police interviewed passengers, which is normal procedure when a threat is classified as serious, the police spokesperson told Reuters.

No takeoffs or landings were possible because the airport fire brigade was involved with the search, the spokesperson added.

The news came on the first day of a special meeting of the German and French governments in Hamburg, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron both attending.