A Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London Heathrow experienced a temporary loss of communication with local air traffic control on Saturday, which led to an interception by fighter jets from Hungary.

The SAR’s flag carrier confirmed the incident after Hungarian defence minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said in a social media post that the Airbus A350 plane lost contact with air traffic controllers over Romanian airspace, which triggered Nato’s quick reaction alert.

Hungary, which borders Romania, scrambled fighter jets to issue a visual warning, he added.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Cathay Pacific said the incident resulted in interception by the authorities in accordance with internationally recognised protocols.

“Communication was simultaneously restored and the flight continued to its destination as planned,” the airline said.

“The flight adhered to its authorised routing at all times and at no point was the safety of the aircraft or those on board compromised.”

The airline added the crew reported the incident immediately and an investigation is underway.



Edited by Tony Sabine