Fighter jets scrambled over Austria after Hungary-Dublin flight loses contact mid-air
Austria’s air force was dispatched twice on Wednesday after losing radio contact with civilian aircraft flying through the country’s airspace, the Austrian Ministry of Defence confirmed.
Contact lost during Hungary-Dublin flight
According to Kronen Zeitung, the first incident occurred at 11:50 AM, when communication broke down with a Boeing 737 travelling from Hungary to Dublin while it was over Austrian territory. Two Eurofighter jets were scrambled under a so-called “Alarmstart 2” protocol to intercept the jet. According to ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer, one fighter flew alongside the airliner while the other provided rear cover. At 11:57 AM, radio contact was re-established, and the operation was swiftly called off.
Not the only incident on Wednesday
Just hours later, at 2:44 PM, the Austrian air force had to launch another interception. This time, the crew of a Boeing 737 en route from Antalya to Amsterdam initially failed to respond to radio calls. The Eurofighters again closed in on the aircraft, but communication was restored shortly afterwards, ending the second mission without further action.
Bauer explained that if a civilian aircraft continues to ignore radio calls, it can be forced to land — a step that has never been necessary in Austria to date. Around 1.3 million flights transit Austrian airspace annually, and such interception missions occur roughly every seven to ten days, triggered by suspicious or unreachable aircraft, Telex writes.