German fighter jets raced to a passenger plane after it transmitted a hijacking signal and lost radio contact, a scare that briefly shut down Nuremberg Airport.
Two Eurofighter jets scrambled Tuesday as Corendon Airlines flight XR456, a Boeing 737 from the Greek island of Corfu, approached Nuremberg. The jet changed its transponder to squawk 7500, the international distress code for a possible hijacking, and the pilot became unreachable by radio.
Police sealed the airport. Flight operations stopped. Germany’s Special Deployment Commando, a federal tactical unit, moved in, according to Bild. The plane touched down safely at 12:16 p.m., one minute past its scheduled arrival, and inspections found no threat. Passengers stayed on board for checks, then rode buses to arrivals.
The Sun reported the full sequence of the in-flight emergency, the jet escort, and the temporary lockdown at Albrecht-Dürer Airport Nuremberg.
Police described an unclear air emergency that forced an immediate response. Controllers lost radio contact with the crew. That blackout, paired with the hijack code, triggered the military escort and ground lockdown.
Officers later stated the stakes plainly.
"For safety reasons, various alarm scrambles were then triggered."
Another police update framed the landing and the open investigation.
"We received a report of an unclear air emergency. In the meantime, the aircraft has landed safely in Nuremberg. Investigations into the cause are currently underway."
An airport spokesperson confirmed the Eurofighters escorted the aircraft until touchdown. The airport’s own website posted the operational freeze in real time.
"Due to an in-flight emergency, flight operations are currently suspended. Flight XR 456 from Corfu to Nuremberg has now landed safely. Further information will follow."
Corendon Airlines, the Turkish-based carrier operating the flight, said the emergency code went out after a malfunction in the radio communication system while the jet flew over Croatia. A company spokesperson told reporters the response started at once.
"The situation was immediately monitored, investigations were promptly initiated and all necessary preparations were made. The aircraft landed safely at Nuremberg Airport."
On the ground, a spokesperson summed up the cabin and cockpit status: everything was fine on the plane; passengers and pilots were fine. Police echoed that finding after on-site checks.
Officers said the aircraft was a scheduled flight from Corfu that landed as planned, and inspections determined there was no danger. Flight operations later resumed. No injuries or arrests were reported.
Hours earlier, the same airport already faced a separate disruption. Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday, three pilots independently reported spotting a mysterious object near the airfield while taking off or landing.
Border police, airport officials, and German air traffic controllers searched with patrol cars, drone-detection gear, and a police helicopter. They found no evidence of a drone. Police said they were investigating the background of those morning disruptions at Albrecht-Dürer Airport Nuremberg. Authorities have not confirmed any link between the early object reports and the later XR456 emergency.
Flightradar24 logged the 12:16 p.m. landing. The cause of the radio failure and the 7500 squawk remains under investigation. Police have not closed the file on why the pilot went unreachable after the code went out, or whether the Croatia malfunction fully accounts for the full alert chain.
A hijack code and a silent cockpit leave no room for hesitation. Scrambling jets and sealing an airport is what serious countries do when the signal says the worst case is possible, and then sort the paperwork after everyone is safe on the ground.
