Germany’s Hamburg Airport (HAM) has reopened and resumed operations after it was suspended for almost two hours after authorities received a threat to a plane coming from Iran.
Airport officials received an emailed attack threat on October 9, 2023 which indicated that a threat to security was coming in on an Iran Air flight from Tehran Airport (IKA).
At around 12:40 local time, operations were halted at Hamburg Airport and flights were diverted to nearby locations such as Hannover Airport (HAJ).
No takeoffs and landings occurred at Hamburg Airport for an hour and a half while authorities made security checks.
The airport posted an update stating: “Due to a federal police measure, take-offs and landings are not possible for a short time. Flight delays may occur. Please keep an eye on your flight status.”
Iran Air flight number IR 723 eventually landed at Hamburg Airport at approximately 12:20 local time. The aircraft was accompanied by German Air Force planes when it entered German airspace east of Berlin all the way to Hamburg.
The flight’s 198 passengers and 16 crew members underwent a security screening, and the aircraft and luggage on board were thoroughly checked. The security search did not yield any result that supported the emailed threat.
After an hour and a half, the airport issued an update via social media that operations have resumed, but advised passengers to still check their flight status because delays may still occur.