Germany’s federal police, responsible for transportation security, evacuated Terminal 1 of Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on Thursday evening.
Preliminary reports suggested a luggage security scare. It was not immediately clear whether or not it posed a real threat.
What do we know about the evacuation?
A spokesman told Germany’s DPA news agency that passengers had been asked to leave the building. He said that a woman had told security staff that she had a dangerous substance in her luggage.
“A potential threat from the unidentified substance could not be ruled out,” the spokesperson said.
He said that as a result a luggage danger alert was issued and declined to comment further at the early stage.
Prior to this, travelers and a German reporter had posted corresponding social media accounts from the scene about the terminal building being emptied, including footage either of crowds waiting outside or of emergency vehicles parked near the lower level entrance.
There was no immediate sign or acknowledgment of the disruption on the airport’s website, except that several but not all flights departing Terminal 1 around 7 p.m. local time were marked as at least slightly delayed.
BER or the “Willy Brandt Airport” in Schönefeld is Berlin’s busiest and Germany’s third-busiest airport since it opened in 2020. It also serves as the primary airport for many federal government flights. Some 26 million passengers travel through it each year.
This is a developing story, more to follow…
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Edited by: Zac Crellin
