Cathay Pacific passenger plane intercepted by NATO fighter jets
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fighter jets intercepted a Cathay Pacific passenger plane after it lost contact with air traffic controllers in Romanian airspace.
The flight on 4 July was en route from Hong Kong to London.
The airline later clarified that communications were eventually restored, adding that no one’s safety was compromised.
However, Hong Kong’s aviation regulator has ordered it to conduct a comprehensive review of the incident.
Plane failed to contact Romanian Civil Air Control
The incident became known to the public following Hungarian defence minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi’s Facebook post on the same day.
He revealed that at 1.42pm local time, a pair of NATO fighter jets were ordered to be on standby after an A350 aircraft flying on the Hong Kong-London route failed to contact the Romanian Civil Air Control.
Source: Dr. Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz on Facebook
The jets then took off at 1.51pm and gave the passenger plane a visual warning.
The Cathay flight then re-established contact with air traffic control, and the jets returned to their base.
Plane experienced temporary loss of communication
In its correspondence with the Hong Kong Free Press (HKPF), Cathay Pacific explained that flight CX257 had experienced a “temporary loss of communication” with local air traffic on 4 July.
Image courtesy of Go Journal on Pexels. For illustration purposes only.
This resulted in a “subsequent interception by the authorities in accordance with internationally recognised protocols.”
“Communications were restored and the flight continued to Heathrow as planned,” the flag carrier said.
It also stressed that no one’s safety was compromised during the incident and the flight had adhered to its authorised route at all times.
Airline ordered to conduct comprehensive review
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) ordered the airline to conduct a comprehensive review of the incident, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
The Hong Kong aviation regulator has set out the parameters for the airline’s review after it expressed concern over the incident for the second consecutive day.
It has instructed Cathay Pacific to submit the investigation report within a week after the incident.
Jets likely triggered due to highly sensitive nature of airspace
Hungary and Romania are members of NATO, a political and military alliance consisting of 32 countries across North America and Europe.
Under NATO’s protocols, the alliance’s air operations centres are notified when an aircraft loses contact with civilian air traffic control in case of hijackings and potential airspace violations.
Bucharest, Romania. Image courtesy of Botond Czapp. For illustration purposes only.
The centre can then decide to send an alert, triggering a NATO-assigned aircraft from an allied air base to take off and identify the aircraft.
According to the chairman of the Hong Kong Professional Airline Pilots Association, Steven Dominique Cheung, the decision to trigger fighter jets during the 4 July incident is likely due to the volatile nature of the airspace near the Ukraine war zone.
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Featured image adapted from Jeffry Surianto on Pexels. For illustration purposes only.
