This afternoon, around 16:30 CEST, a couple of Italian Air Force Eurofighter was scrambled from Gioia del Colle AB to intercept a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (reg. 9H-QAZ, f/n FR5358) that had lost radio contact with the ATC (Air Traffic Control) as it flew from Suceava to Rome Ciampino.
The scramble order was issued by Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) –Torrejon (Spain), the NATO headquarters in charge of surveillance in that area, while the Italian Air Force Air Defence and Surveillance System’s Operations Room provided control over the operation.