Fighter jets escort BA flight

FIGHTER jets were deployed and intercepted a British Airways flight over Hungary as it lost contact with air traffic control.

The highest safety alert was issued by Hungarian authorities when the Boeing 777 flew over Hungary without prior announcement on April 30.

The plane was travelling from Dubai to Heathrow when two Hungarian Air Force Gripens were deployed to identify the aircraft.

When entering a new county’s airspace, pilots must make contact with air traffic controllers in that country due to safety protocols.

The fighter jets took off at 12.55pm to assess the BA flight before it made contact with air traffic control but the Gripens soon returned to base at 1.21pm.

“Communication was quickly restored with air traffic control and the flight landed normally at Heathrow.” A BA spokesman said.

With European security remaining on high alert and authorities rightly sensitive to any unexpected events, there have been several recent incidents which have triggered high level security protocols by commercial flights.

On a Monarch flight in October, travelling from Madeira to Birmingham, fighter jets were deployed after it lost contact with French authorities.