Nuremberg Airport in Germany was temporarily shut down on Tuesday (13 Oct) after a passenger plane from Corfu, Greece, transmitted an emergency code indicating a possible hijacking.
Fighter jets were also deployed to escort the aircraft to the airport.
Corendon Airlines flight XR456 landed safely at around 12.16pm local time, with authorities later confirming that no hijacking had taken place.
The Boeing 737-800 was flying to Nuremberg when it sent the international emergency code 7500 used to alert a possible hijacking.
According to RTL, a spokeswoman for Corendon Airlines later said this occurred at 9am (UTC), or 11am German time, in Croatian airspace.
Air traffic controllers subsequently lost radio contact with the pilots.
Source: Aviation Week
The incident triggered a major security response, with German Air Force Eurofighter jets scrambling to escort the aircraft to its destination, EuroNews reported.
The fighter jets also flew over the airport until authorities ensured that the intercepted plane would not take off again.
Nuremberg Airport temporarily suspended flight operations, and police, special forces, and emergency personnel were deployed on the ground.
Meanwhile, other flights arriving at the airport were diverted.
After the Corendon Airlines plane landed, passengers remained on board as authorities conducted checks.
Source: JetStream Virtual, for illustration purposes only.
When authorities found no threat, the plane’s 178 passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft and taken to the arrivals hall by bus.
Police said all passengers and crew members were safe.
After about two hours, at around 1.14pm, airport operations resumed.
The Corendon Airlines spokesperson said the aircraft reported the emergency code “due to a brief disruption of the radio communication system”
The Turkish airline also emphasised that “at no time was there an actual emergency situation”. It added that neither the passengers, crew, nor aircraft were in danger at any time.
Source: AOPA, for illustration purposes only.
Authorities are investigating how the 7500 code was transmitted, but investigators believe the incident was linked to a technical malfunction.
They have yet to confirm the exact cause of the alert.
Nuremberg Airport had faced another security disruption earlier that day.
Three pilots separately reported seeing a suspicious object believed to be a drone between around 2am and 4am.
Police deployed a helicopter and special equipment to search the area, but found no evidence that a drone had been present.
Two incoming aircraft were reportedly diverted during the disruption.
Authorities said there is no apparent connection between the suspected drone sighting and the false hijacking alarm, Die Zeit reported.
Also read: SIA Plane Reportedly Sends Out False Hijack Alarm, Airline Confirms There’s No Emergency
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from JetStream Virtual, for illustration purposes only.