Hamburg Airport was completely shut down for a brief period of time after a Second World War-era bomb was discovered nearby. Credit: Medvedev

Germany’s Hamburg Airport completely shut down operations for a brief period of time after the nearby discovery of a Second World War-era bomb.

The 450kg explosive was discovered yesterday afternoon in the Hamburg-Schnelsen section of the German city.

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All departing and arriving flights were stopped and diverted to nearby airports such as Hannover.

The airport tweeted at 7:57pm local time that ‘the airspace over the airport was closed and that no flights were landing or departing’.

It advised passengers to contact their airlines as the duration of the closure was unknown.

Passengers who had boarded flights remained there as aircraft were instructed to stay on the runway.

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The airport opened again at 10:49pm local time after the bomb was successfully defused.

The airport tweeted: “Hamburg Airport just reopened. The WW2 bomb in Hamburg-Schnelsen was successfully defused. All waiting flights can depart / land from now on. Please keep in contact with your airline regarding your current flight status.”

Last year, London City Airport in the UK temporarily closed after a Second World War bomb was discovered in the river Thames’ King George V Dock, which is situated close to the airport’s runway. The discovery of the 500kg ordnance was made during scheduled work at the dock.

This month, a Second World War-era bomber aircraft crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut in the US.

The aircraft, which was carrying a total of 13 people, reported a problem five minutes into the flight.