Two countries sent its Fighter jets intercept a Ryanair flight after a radio communications failure
There were fears that a security breach could have taken place onboard
Fighter jets from two countries were scrambled to intercept a Ryanair flight after traffic controllers lost communications with the aircraft.
It has emerged that on Saturday night, Ryanair FR-9525 from Lublin in Poland to Stansted Airport in England suffered a radio communications failure over The Netherlands.
The Boeing 737-800 jet was flying at 36,000 feet as it entered Dutch airspace however controllers at Maasstricht were unable to make contact with the jet.
It’s understood the aircraft was visible on radar at all times.
As result of the loss of radio contact and fearing a possible security issue on board two Belgian Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft were dispatched to intercept the aircraft.
It’s understood that at the time, the fighter jets were operating patrols in the airspace on behalf of Belgian and Dutch governments.
At the same time, an RAF Typhoon fighter jet were also scrambled from a UK air base so they could intercept the plane when it entered British airspace.
When the Belgian Air Force jets intercepted the flight near Rotterdam radio contact was quickly re-established and the crew confirmed there was no security issue.
The fighter aircraft were stood down while the Ryanair flight continued to Stansted for a safe landing.
It’s understood that there had been no contact from the aircraft for over 30 minutes and efforts were made to call the flight on a number of radio frequencies including the international aviation radio distress channel.Ryanair was asked four questions in relation to the matter but would only say: “This flight from Lublin landed normally at Stansted airport.”
The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport here confirmed it was notified of the incident.
A spokesman said: “The event was reported to the AAIU as the state of registry.”Said events are a security matter and where military aircraft are scrambled to intercept commercial aircraft under loss of communications criteria it is a matter for the military/security services.
“As this event occurred in UK airspace it is a matter for the security services of the UK.
“As such the AAIU is not investigating this occurrence,” the AAIU said.
The Belgian Air Force confirmed on Twitter: “Two F16’s on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) took off from Kleine-Brogel Air Base for a civilian airliner that had lost all contact with air traffic control. Once radio contact was re-established, jets returned to homebase around midnight.”