Germany Scrambles Fighter Jets After False Hijack Alert

Germany scrambled two Eurofighter jets on Tuesday after a Corendon Airlines passenger aircraft transmitted a hijack alert and went out of radio contact, which the carrier later blamed on a communications malfunction.

The Boeing 737-800, traveling from Corfu in Greece to Nuremberg, reached its destination safely. Airport operations were briefly halted before resuming.

Corendon, a leisure carrier based in Türkiye, said: “No emergency situation occurred and that at no point were the passengers, flight crew or aircraft in any danger.”

Hijack Code and Lost Contact

German police said the cockpit transmitted code 7500, signaling a hijacking, while attempts to contact the pilot by radio failed.

“For safety reasons, various alarm scrambles were then triggered,” police said in a post on X.

An air force spokesperson said two Eurofighters took off from Neuburg Air Base in southern Germany and escorted the airliner through to its landing.

Corendon placed the malfunction in Croatian airspace, where it said the emergency code was sent “due to a brief malfunction in the radio communication system.”

The airline said it began investigating immediately and made preparations while monitoring the aircraft.

Airport Disruptions

The interception followed a separate disruption at Nuremberg Airport, where a possible drone sighting had affected traffic overnight into Tuesday.

German authorities have maintained heightened vigilance since an attempted attack with an explosives-laden drone at a German airport in August.

Authorities attributed that incident to Russia, which denied involvement.

Germany maintains two fighter alert units, each equipped with two aircraft, to investigate cases in which civilian flight crews lose contact with air traffic controllers.

Such incidents occur roughly once or twice a month, according to the air force’s website.