Nuremberg Airport temporarily halted all flight operations on Tuesday after Corendon Airlines flight XR456, a Boeing 737-800 from Corfu, transmitted a hijacking-related emergency code and briefly lost radio contact. German Air Force Eurofighters escorted the 9H-CXD aircraft to Nuremberg, where it landed safely at about 12:16 local time. Police secured the airport and inspected the aircraft before clearing it for normal operations.
The alert was triggered while the aircraft was in Croatian airspace. Corendon attributed the transmission to a brief malfunction in the aircraft’s radio communication system and confirmed that none of the 178 passengers or six crew members was in danger. Police initially treated the signal as a possible hijacking or other in-flight emergency, prompting the military escort and a temporary airport closure.
Authorities cordoned off the terminal and surrounding access roads while security checks were conducted. No danger was found, and passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft after operations resumed at about 13:25. The disruption delayed six flights and diverted incoming aircraft to airports including Frankfurt, Memmingen, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne and Prague.
Earlier, three pilots reportedly alerted authorities to a possible drone near the airport. Police vehicles and a helicopter searched the area without finding one, and authorities had not established whether that report was connected to the Corendon incident.