By uncontrollably entering a security area at Munich Airport when changing trains, a traveler has caused a chaos in Germany's second-largest airport.
The police cleared Terminal 2 and B and C of Terminal 1 on Tuesday morning. It was not until nearly four hours later that passenger handling was resumed. Around 130 take-offs and landings were canceled. In addition, there were significant delays, as the airport announced. "Passengers have to expect air traffic disruption throughout the day."
According to the Federal Police, the Spaniard is between 20 and 25 years old, had come to Munich from the Thai capital Bangkok and wanted to travel to Madrid. Prior to entry control, he had passed through an emergency exit door into an area where only controlled passengers are allowed to enter.
As a result, the Federal Police initiated "hazard-control measures" in accordance with EU legislation. The officers located the man and interviewed him. He had no bad intentions, said a spokeswoman. The Federal Police threatened no consequences.
Access to Terminal 2 temporarily blocked
At around 11.15, the airport employees started to handle passengers again. New arrivals could not enter Terminal 2 until 12.45 to prevent the building from overcrowding, the airport said.
All people from the evacuated terminal areas had to be checked again. The airport distributed water and informed the passengers via loudspeaker announcements as well as via Twitter about the situation. Similar incidents at airports happen again and again.
An airport spokesman said that a total of about 1200 take-offs and landings had been planned in Munich on Tuesday. On average, about 120,000 passengers were traveling there on such a day. Of the canceled flights, around 19,500 passengers are likely to be affected.
The current events are reminiscent of the Munich airport chaos at the beginning of the summer holidays 2018: At that time, the Federal Police had cleared the Terminal 2 and the associated satellite terminal, because a woman had passed unchecked through a security gate. 330 flights were canceled, more than 31,000 passengers were affected throughout the weekend. The damage went into the millions.
The airport then voluntarily distributed almost 6000 50 Euro vouchers. However, the district court Erding decided that airlines are not obliged to a compensation payment, if passengers can not fly due to an anti-terrorist measure (Az .: 4 C 3819/18). The judgment is final.