Two JAS-39 Gripen jets escorted the Arkia flight from Tel Aviv to Prague after contact with Hungarian air traffic control was lost; communication was later restored and the plane continued on its routeHungarian fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday after an Israeli passenger plane operated by Arkia failed to establish contact with civilian air traffic controllers while flying through Hungarian airspace.Following the incident, NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center ordered the highest alert level in Hungary, prompting the country’s air defense forces to send two JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets to escort the aircraft.1 View gallery A Hungarian JAS-39 fighter jet (Photo: VanderWolf Images / shutterstock)Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said the Israeli Airbus A321 was operating a scheduled flight from Tel Aviv to Prague when it failed to respond to repeated attempts by civilian air traffic control to make contact.The fighter pilots were able to establish contact with the Airbus crew shortly after reaching the aircraft, Magyar said. Radio communication between the passenger plane and Hungarian air traffic control was then restored.Under NATO’s standard air policing procedures, the Hungarian jets escorted the Arkia plane until it left Hungarian airspace at 8:10 p.m. and continued on its planned route toward Austria.Magyar said Hungary’s air policing service and NATO’s integrated air defense system “acted effectively” throughout the incident.Hungarian reports said it remained unclear why the Israeli aircraft initially failed to communicate with air traffic control.Although such incidents are relatively rare, officials in Hungary noted that NATO air policing missions routinely include identifying and responding to civilian or military aircraft that fail to maintain the required communication with air traffic control.