British and Belgian fighter jets intercept flight from Romania that lost communications

An aircraft that took off from Bucharest at around 1:30 on Tuesday morning was intercepted by Royal Air Force (RAF) jets after it lost communications, reports Independent.co.uk. Belgian F-16 fighter jets were also scrambled to intercept it as the plane flew over the North Sea. The plane landed safely in Birmingham at 7:30 local time, after the jets escorted it there. “The RAF can confirm that Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, were launched this morning by Quick Reaction Alert mission to intercept a civilian aircraft that had lost communications,” said a spokesperson for the RAF, cited by the British publication. The aircraft, a Saab 340, came into service in 1987 and is operated by Hungarian cargo airline Fleet Air International. In recent days it has made stops in Brno, the Czech Republic, and Cluj-Napoca, in Romania. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com