Hanover Airport Closes After Man Takes Drug-Fueled Drive on Tarmac

Dec. 30, 2018

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2 min read

Hanover Airport Closes After Man Takes Drug-Fueled Drive on Tarmac

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Authorities closed Hanover Airport (HAJ) in northern Germany on Saturday around 3:30pm local time after a man drove a silver BMW with Polish license plates through a passageway and onto the tarmac. The car then began following an Aegean Airlines flight that had just landed.

The action prompted an immediate response by federal police, including the deployment of an explosives team. Arrivals and departures were cancelled as a precaution at the time with concerns the incident could be terrorist related. Security in Germany was already on high alert for the holiday travel season after reports of possible extremist surveilling German airports surfaced.

Vehicles of the emergency services are seen at the airport in Hanover on December 29, 2018 after a security incident resulted in flight operations been suspended when a man broke through a gate with a car before being stopped by Police. (Photo by Clemens Heidrich / dpa / AFP/ Getty Images)

The man was eventually detained by local police. He later tested positive for cocaine and amphetamines. A search of the car didn't turn up anything dangerous, other than its driver.

Normal flight operations resumed some five hours after the initial incursion onto the tarmac.

H/T: dw.com

Featured image by AFP/Getty Images