Flight lands safely in Germany after hijack alert issued due to radio malfunction, airline says

FRANKFURT, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A flight ‌from the ​Greek island ​of Corfu to Germany landed safely as planned in Nuremberg on Tuesday after a hijack alert issued from the cockpit that the ‌airline put down to a "malfunction in the radio communication system".

Corendon ⁠Airlines said it wanted to "emphasize that no emergency situation occurred and that at no point were ‌the passengers, flight crew or ‌aircraft in any danger".

The incident forced a brief suspension of operations at Nuremberg Airport, where the plane was headed, the airport said. Flight operations later ​returned to normal.

"From the cockpit, the code '7500' (hijacking case) was transmitted, and furthermore, the pilot could no longer be reached by radio. For safety reasons, various ⁠alarm scrambles were then triggered," police earlier said on X.

The alert comes less than a month after ​the co-pilot of a jet bound for Israel from Dubai attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, with the United ​Arab Emirates' prosecutor general calling the incident ‌a "terrorist attack".

The airline said the emergency code had been transmitted on Tuesday while the plane, a Boeing 737-800, was in Croatian ⁠airspace "due to a brief malfunction in the radio communication system".

"The situation was immediately monitored, investigations were promptly initiated and all necessary preparations were made. The aircraft landed safely at ⁠Nuremberg Airport," it said.

The airport said earlier on its website: "Flight operations are currently suspended due ​to an in-flight emergency. Flight XR 456 from Corfu to Nuremberg has since landed safely."

An airport spokesperson had no additional information.

A possible drone sighting had already disrupted air traffic at ‌the airport overnight into Tuesday, the airport said in a separate statement.

German authorities have also been on heightened alert since ‌a failed attack involving an explosives-laden drone at a German airport in August, which ⁠authorities blamed on Russia.

Russia denied ‌any involvement.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, ​Kirsti Knolle and Emanuele Berro, additional reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Matthias Williams, Linda Pasquini and ‌Alison Williams)

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