Recently, a Cathay Pacific passenger flight traveling from Hong Kong to London temporarily lost contact with air traffic control while flying through Romanian airspace in eastern Europe. The incident triggered a NATO Quick Reaction Alert (QRA), prompting Hungarian fighter jets to scramble and issue visual signals to the airliner.
Cathay Pacific said that relevant authorities handled the situation in accordance with internationally recognized procedures and arranged an interception response. Communications with the aircraft were soon restored, and the flight continued to its destination as scheduled. The aircraft remained on its approved route throughout the incident, and the safety of the aircraft and all passengers and crew members was never affected. The flight crew promptly reported the incident, and an investigation is currently underway.
According to a statement posted on social media by Hungary’s Minister of Defence Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, Romanian air traffic control was unable to establish contact with an Airbus A350 operating the Hong Kong–London route at 13:42 local time on July 4, triggering the NATO Quick Reaction Alert (QRA). Hungary scrambled fighter jets at 13:51, which issued visual signals to the airliner near the Hungarian border. Communications between the aircraft and air traffic control were later restored, and the fighter jets returned to Kecskemét Air Base.
The aircraft involved was identified as a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000, registered as B-LXA, with a maximum capacity of 334 passengers. No injuries were reported, and the aircraft sustained no damage.
Flight tracking platform Flightradar24’s data shows that the aircraft registered B-LXA completed a 13-hour-and-40-minute journey and landed safely at London Heathrow International Airport at 15:20 Greenwich Mean Time on July 4.
