Mid-air terror as French fighter jet intercepts plane

Passengers aboard a Birmingham-bound flight told of their terror after it was intercepted by a fighter jet in a dramatic mid-air alert.

The craft drew up so close to the Monarch Airlines service that stunned passengers said they could see the pilot’s face.

It happened on Monday when Flight ZB983 from Madeira lost contact with air traffic control in French airspace.

It happened on Monday when Flight ZB983 from Madeira lost contact with air traffic control in French airspace. Credit: BPM
A Monarch spokesman said a “military aircraft” was launched following the loss of communication Credit: BPM

Caroline Regan, who was on board with her husband Tony, said passengers were offered no firm explanation of why the jet was so close to their plane.

Mrs Regan, 71, and her 70-year-old husband were returning from a fortnight’s break at their holiday home in Madeira on the 10.40am flight from Funchal.

Caroline Regan and her husband Tony Credit: BPM

A message was eventually passed from the captain saying the fighter, believed to have been a Rafale jet from the French military, was on an exercise or “recce”, she said.

A Monarch spokesman said a “military aircraft” was launched following the loss of communication – standard procedure in such circumstances.