Nuremberg airport reopens after Corfu flight escorted by fighter jets

Nuremberg Airport halted flight operations on Tuesday after authorities responded to a suspected in-flight emergency on a commercial service bound for the airport, according to the airport and local police.

Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft was intercepted and accompanied to the runway by German Air Force Eurofighter jets. The plane, a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-8GP registered 9H-CXD operating flight XR456 from Corfu, touched down safely at about 12:16 p.m. local time.

Officials closed the airport and set up a cordon, deploying special response units, because the nature of the threat was not immediately clear. Incoming flights were sent to Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart instead. Police later said searches of the aircraft and the surrounding area turned up no danger or suspicious items, and that an investigation into the cause is under way.

The midday disruption came after an already unsettled morning at the airport, also known as Albrecht-Dürer Airport. Between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., traffic was briefly interrupted when three pilots reported an unidentified object near the airfield, believed to be an unauthorised drone. Border police, drone-detection equipment and a police helicopter took part in a search, but nothing was found.

Authorities have not yet formally linked the two events.