BERLIN — Operations at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) were significantly disrupted on Thursday evening, 3 September 2026, after a woman reported to German Federal Police that she was carrying a potentially dangerous substance. As the substance could not initially be identified with certainty and a potential hazard could not be ruled out, the public area of Terminal 1 was evacuated as a precautionary measure.
According to the airport operator, the Federal Police triggered the dangerous-goods alert at approximately 17:45 local time. The public area of Terminal 1 was subsequently cleared for safety reasons. Federal Police said the woman was temporarily taken into custody at the beginning of the operation.
Despite the extensive security response, BER was not completely closed. Aircraft that were already ready for departure were able to take off, while aircraft on approach continued to land. The area beyond the security checkpoints in Terminal 1 was not evacuated. Disruptions were subsequently reported during the remainder of Thursday evening.
The incident therefore did not result in a complete shutdown of Berlin’s main airport. Instead, authorities isolated the affected public area while allowing significant parts of the airside operation to continue.
Fire service personnel were called in to assess the reported substance. Specialist personnel equipped with protective equipment and appropriate technical resources were involved in the response. The situation was treated as a potential dangerous-goods incident until the nature and potential hazard of the substance could be assessed.
The police operation was brought to an end at approximately 20:45 local time, when Terminal 1 was released for normal use again. The airport subsequently warned that delays and individual flight cancellations could continue until the end of Thursday’s operating period. Regular operations were expected to resume on Friday.
Based on public repords so far, no actual hazard was ultimately identified. However, authorities had not initially disclosed the exact nature of the substance, leaving the identity of the material and the circumstances surrounding the report unresolved.
