Fighter jets escort Air India passenger flight into Heathrow Airport

Air India: The plane was carrying 231 passengers when it went off radar.
AFP/Getty Images
Francesca Gillett10 March 2017

A plane carrying hundreds of passengers was escorted into Heathrow airport by German and Belgian fighter jets after it went off radar over Europe.

Fighter jets were scrambled after the Air India plane lost contact with air traffic control as it flew over Hungary at around 8.15am on Friday.

The UK-bound flight was on its way back from Gujarat in India and was passing over Eastern Europe when the loss of radio contact sparked fears it could have been hijacked.

Hungarian, German and Belgian pilots flew fighter jets alongside the 787 Dreamliner plane, which was carrying 231 passengers, for two hours as it passed over Europe.

The fault on the plane was fixed by the time the plane reached Britain, the Mail Online reported.

By the time the plane was ready to land in Heathrow it is thought signals had resumed between air traffic control and the air crew.

RAF jets were not needed to help the plane land.

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