Radio Malfunction Triggers Nuremberg Airport Alert

Nuremberg Airport in Germany briefly suspended flight operations after an aviation emergency involving a Corendon Airlines flight from Corfu. A hijack code, “7500,” was transmitted from the cockpit while the Boeing 737-800 was in Croatian airspace, and the pilot could not be reached by radio. Police said the alert prompted safety procedures and alarm responses. The aircraft nevertheless landed safely at Nuremberg as planned. Corendon Airlines later attributed the alert to a brief malfunction in the radio communication system, emphasizing that there was no emergency and that passengers, crew and aircraft were never in danger. The airport said operations had returned to normal. The incident occurred amid heightened concern about aviation security in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. A possible drone sighting had disrupted air traffic at Nuremberg overnight, with pilots reporting an object during take-off or landing. Six flights were delayed and two inbound flights were diverted as a precaution. The article also notes other recent drone-related disruptions at German airports: a drone incident at Hanover Airport and the discovery of an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig Airport, where runways were closed for 90 minutes. German authorities have warned of a heightened threat and discussed the possibility of “hybrid” activity, a broad category that can include sabotage, espionage and propaganda. Russia has denied involvement in a failed attack involving an explosives-laden drone, and authorities have not established a link between the Hanover and Leipzig incidents. The report places these events against a backdrop of increased European surveillance of the skies and Germany’s support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Nuremberg Airport briefly halted operations after a passenger aircraft arriving from the Greek island of Corfu transmitted an emergency code before landing. Police cordoned off the airport, and Eurofighter jets escorted the aircraft. The plane landed safely, and police later said checks found no danger. The airport subsequently returned to normal operations. Corendon Airlines, which operated the flight, said it believed the alert was caused by a technical malfunction. The precise nature of the signal was not immediately known. Separately, three pilots reported seeing an object that might have been a drone while taking off or landing earlier that morning. Airport officials, border police and Germany’s air traffic control service searched for a drone, including with the help of a police helicopter, but found none. It was initially unclear whether the reported sighting and the aircraft’s emergency signal were connected. The incidents disrupted air traffic: six flights were delayed, and two inbound aircraft diverted to Cologne and Prague before continuing to Nuremberg. The article places the alert in the context of previous drone-related disruption at German airports. In August, an explosives-laden drone was found near a runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport, prompting a police investigation. In May, a possible drone sighting stopped flights at Munich Airport for about an hour and led more than 20 arriving aircraft to divert; police did not find a drone there. The report does not establish that a drone caused the Nuremberg emergency.

A Corendon Airlines flight from Corfu, Greece, to Nuremberg, Germany, landed safely on Tuesday after a hijack alert was transmitted from the cockpit. The airline attributed the alert to a brief malfunction in the aircraft’s radio communication system, saying no emergency occurred and that passengers, crew and aircraft were never in danger. The Boeing 737-800 was in Croatian airspace when the emergency code was sent. Police said the cockpit transmitted code 7500, used for a hijacking, and that the pilot could not be contacted by radio, prompting safety alarm procedures. Nuremberg Airport briefly suspended operations while the incident was handled, then resumed normal flight operations after the aircraft landed. The airport had described the disruption as an in-flight emergency and confirmed the plane’s safe arrival. It did not provide further information. The alert followed another aviation-security incident less than a month earlier, when the co-pilot of a Dubai-to-Israel jet attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe; the UAE prosecutor general described that incident as a terrorist attack. Separately, a possible drone sighting disrupted air traffic at Nuremberg overnight into Tuesday. German authorities have also been on heightened alert since an August failed attack involving an explosives-laden drone at a German airport, which authorities blamed on Russia; Russia denied involvement.