Two Hungarian Air Force fighter jets were scrambled last Thursday towards an Arkia airliner after the pilot lost contact with air traffic controllers.
The incident occurred during a flight en route to Prague in Hungarian airspace.
At some point during the flight, communication between the aircraft and the air traffic control unit was lost - and the event triggered the highest alert level at NATO's air operations center, leading to the JAS-39 Gripen aircraft being scrambled.
The Hungarian Daily News reported that the pilots did not respond to flight control's communication calls, and the planes were scrambled for identification purposes and to establish contact with the air crew.
Shortly after the bounce, the fighter pilots established eye contact with the plane - and then the Israeli team resumed communication with the Hungarian controllers.
In accordance with NATO procedures, the fighter jets escorted the Israeli flight until it left Hungarian airspace.
Arkia responded: "The flight crew operated in accordance with the approved flight plan and the pre-determined flight paths. To the best of our understanding, following the loss of contact, the Hungarian authorities decided to operate a military aircraft that approached the aircraft, and as a result, contact with the flight crew was restored.".
""The incident is under internal investigation by the company, which will also examine its circumstances with the Hungarian authorities. The plane continued its flight as planned and landed safely at its destination. We emphasize that at no point during the flight was there any danger to the plane, passengers or crew.".
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