New Delhi: In the second instance of European fighter aircraft escorting the plane of an Indian carrier within a month, a London-bound Air India aircraft from Ahmedabad was escorted by fighter aircraft after it lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) while flying over Hungary. According to British media reports, for about two hours, Hungarian, German and Belgian fighter aircraft “shadowed” an Air India plane which was bound for London after taking off from Ahme-dabad. According to news agency reports, the plane, with 231 passengers and 18 crew members onboard, lost contact with the ATC due to “frequency fluctuation”.
In a statement, India’s national carrier said, “AI 171 Ahmedabad - London - Newark flight after departing as per schedule at 7 am on Friday morning lost communication with the local ATC while flying over Hungary for a short while. The flight landed safely at Heathrow at 11.06 am local time as per schedule. The airline is enquiring into the incident.”
According to British media reports, the fighter aircraft were scrambled after the plane entered airspace over Hungary at around 8.15 am but it failed to make radio contact, sparking fears it had been hijacked or was in trouble.
