The interceptors, which took off in a few minutes from the Apulian Air Force base, intercepted a Boeing 767 of Ethiopian Airlines flying from Addis-Abeba to Fiumicino hijacked to Geneva and escorted it until, in transalpine territory, they left it in "delivery" to the French Air Defense.
The complex operation took place under the direction of the Air Operations Command (COA) of the Italian Air Force site in Poggio Renatico (FE), which activated the aerial search and rescue device and informed the national security bodies.
While in transit through national airspace, the Ethiopian flight never manifested hostile intentions. The "scramble" is in technical jargon the immediate take-off of interceptor fighters that under the guidance of air defense controllers head towards an aircraft to ascertain its identity and verify its intentions to safeguard national security and air communication lines in a segment of vital importance for civil and commercial air transport in the Mediterranean basin.
In the past, the interceptors of the Air Force have risen up in the air, as well as for the interception of a hijacked airplane, even for aircraft that did not meet pre-established requirements, did not have the required authorizations to fly over Italian airspace or diverge from the predetermined route without valid reasons.
The Air Force ensures the surveillance of the national airspace 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, with an integrated defense system consisting of radar sensors, a command and control center and the Grosseto Gioia air defense operational units. del Colle and Trapani. Air Force interceptors also operate under NATO Command and Control, in close synergy with the Air Defense of neighboring countries. The Air Defense Departments of the Italian Air Force are equipped with Eurofighter interceptors and are distributed throughout the country: the 24 ° Stormo in Grosseto (GR); the 4th Wing in Gioia del Colle (BA), as well as, in support and as a back-up to the 36th and 4th, the 36th Wing of Trapani.
Source: General Office for Communication - Public Information Office - Rome
