Czech Gripens scrambled after aircraft loses contact over Slovakia

A small Cessna 185 aircraft lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying over Slovak territory. Residents of the Kysuce region in the country's northwest heard a loud roar — it was Czech Gripen fighter jets, which guard Slovak airspace, being scrambled toward the plane, the Slovak news portal Sme reports.

The incident caused air traffic near Kraków and Katowice airports in Poland to be suspended for roughly half an hour. According to Polish authorities, the disruption was caused by problems affecting the pilot of the Cessna 185, which was flying from Hungary to the Polish town of Suwałki.

Why the Czechs guard Slovak skies

The Czech Republic currently takes part in guarding Slovak airspace — a mission that has been in place since the Slovak air force retired its Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters and handed them over to Kyiv following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Besides the Czech Gripens, Slovak skies are also patrolled by aircraft from Poland and Hungary.

Source: novinky.cz