Germany scrambled two Eurofighters after a Corendon jet sent a hijack code and lost radio contact, then escorted it safely to Nuremberg

A Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-800 flying from Corfu, Greece, to Nuremberg landed safely on Tuesday after German fighter jets escorted it following a hijack alert and a loss of radio contact. Airport operations resumed after a brief halt.

German police said the aircraft transmitted code 7500, which signals a hijacking, while attempts to reach the pilot by radio went unanswered. An air force spokesperson said two Eurofighters took off from Neuburg Air Base in southern Germany and accompanied the plane until it landed.

Corendon attributed the incident to a brief communications malfunction in Croatian airspace, saying there was no emergency and that passengers, crew and aircraft were never in danger. German authorities said the country has two fighter alert units that investigate losses of civilian aircraft communications, with such incidents occurring about once or twice a month.