A hijacking of a plane was simulated at Vienna-Schwechat Airport today. During the emergency exercise, there was a large contingent of emergency services - air traffic remained uninterrupted.

The main component of the inter-agency exercise was the forced landing of an Austrian Airlines A320 machine at Vienna Airport. The Eurofighter pilots, together with the security authorities and civil airspace security, practiced a complex procedure to force a civil passenger aircraft to land. “Procedures that are not practiced usually do not work when they are needed. Thorough preparation is necessary, especially for operational exercises involving several actors,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the simulated attempted hijacking at Vienna Airport was organized by the Air Marshal unit of the Cobra/DSE task force as part of the EU project “Enhancing In-Flight Security”. In addition to the Austrian Air Marshal forces, the army's Eurofighters and access teams from Cobra and international special forces were also involved.