Three young men in work clothes pose with a gesture typical of IS on the tarmac at Düsseldorf Airport: In the middle of the summer holiday season, these images from social media caused a stir.
According to the Federal Police, all necessary measures to avert danger were taken immediately after the incident became known.
A picture from social media shows three men in work clothes standing on the tarmac and symbolically pointing their index fingers upwards - a gesture typical of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).
According to their own statements, the federal police became aware of a video on Thursday and, after an immediate evaluation, assigned the location to Düsseldorf Airport.
The federal police said on Friday that all three people had been identified based on the footage.
Since an Islamist reference cannot be ruled out based on the behavior seen on the videos, the airport ID cards were immediately blocked.
This ensures that access to security areas of the airport is excluded.
It was also checked that the people are currently not on duty at the airport.
The case was then handed over to the Düsseldorf police.
Danger speeches to two of the men
A police spokesman said they drove to the men's addresses on Thursday.
A threat speech was given to two of them, and the third was on vacation.
"We're still focusing on him - when he's back, we'll talk to him about a threat as well."
She makes representations to extremists and hooligans, for example.
The officials want to signal that the person is on the screen and that they should not put into practice the thoughts they may have.
According to a spokesman, the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office is not investigating the case.
Pointing a finger is not a criminal offence.
The Federal Police pointed out that staff are subjected to a background check before working in the airport security area.
The state aviation security authorities are responsible, which made inquiries to the police and constitutional protection authorities in order to be able to take into account the knowledge available there.
"Only after a positive check result is an airport ID card issued, which allows access to the security area," said a spokesman.
The check could identify possible safety concerns before starting work.
According to the information provided by the Federal Police, there were no police findings on the persons concerned.
Airport operators: Not our employees
"The authorities reacted immediately and there was no tolerance," said Manuel Ostermann, Deputy Federal Chairman of the DPolG Federal Police Union, to the dpa.
He added: "Of course, this leads to stomach pains for travelers, but German airports are safe." Against the background of a growing extremist threat, one must remain constantly vigilant.
The safety procedures would have to be constantly monitored and kept up to date.
This also applies to the background check.
Flughafen Düsseldorf GmbH stated that the persons concerned were not employees of the GmbH, but employees of a service provider working at the airport.