Germany scrambles fighter jets over false hijack alert on Greek flight

A passenger plane flying from the Greek island of Corfu to Nuremberg in southern Germany landed safely on Tuesday, after a signal from the cockpit indicating a possible hijacking led the German air force to send up two fighter jets. The airline links the signal to a technical fault. Reuters reports that losing contact with civilian aircraft is not unusual in Germany.

What happened

The Boeing 737-800 was operated by Corendon Airlines, a Turkish carrier. German police said the code 7500, which signals a hijacking, was transmitted from the cockpit, and radio contact with the pilot was lost at the same time. For safety reasons, procedures for launching fighter jets were set in motion.

A spokesperson for the German air force said two Eurofighter jets took off from Neuburg air base in the south of the country and escorted the passenger aircraft until it landed. The incident briefly halted operations at Nuremberg airport, but flights later returned to normal.

The airline's explanation

Corendon Airlines said the cause was a malfunction in the radio communication system. The company stressed that there was no emergency and that neither passengers, crew nor the aircraft were in danger at any point.

Quick reaction squadrons

Germany has two such quick reaction squadrons, each made up of two fighter jets. They assess the situation when contact is lost with civilian aircraft crews. According to the air force's website, this happens roughly once or twice a month.

Other aviation disruptions

In September, more than 2,000 flights in Britain were cancelled over two days because of a technical failure in the Nats air traffic control system. On 19 July, a serious air traffic control failure in Poland made it impossible to take off from some airports.