Germany's Hamburg airport halts flights after threat to plane from Iran

Germany's Hamburg airport suspended flights on Monday as police, acting on a threat of an attack sent via an email, searched a plane with 198 passengers from Tehran that had landed in the northern city, a federal police spokesperson told Reuters.

The spokesperson described the measures, which included interviewing passengers, as normal procedure when a threat is classified as serious.

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

The Hamburg airport warned that flight delays may ensue due to the measures and did not give an estimate of when they could resume.

The German Press Agency first reported on the police response to the threat.

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.