Hamburg Airport Evacuated After ‘Breathing Difficulties’

Hamburg Airport passenger terminals were evacuated briefly on Sunday after passengers complained of nausea at the central security checkpoint.

Both terminals and the Airport Plaza were evacuated and flights suspended from 12:10 until 13:40. The airport authority said 14 flights were cancelled and several diverted to other airports.

Emergency services treated 68 people who complained of breathing difficulties. Police reports indicated a gas had been released into the air and circulated through the ventilation system.

A Hamburg fire service spokesman said later that the incident was not a terrorist attack.

There was some disruption to flights at Germany’s fifth busiest airport during the remainder of the day after passengers were allowed back into the terminals and services resumed.