On Sunday, August 27, a terrorist attack threat was received in the CROCONTROL area air traffic control room.
We were unable to find out more details about the threat itself.
Namely, on Thursday, September 7, after learning about the terrorist threat, we sent an inquiry to the CROCONTROL to confirm the event and obtain additional information. We were told that we would receive an answer, but a day later, on Friday, we were informed that we would be denied for any information.
We believe that HKZP management would have commented on the threat itself, but the problem is what happened immediately after the event.
Krešimir Rakoci, president of the Croatian Air Traffic Controller’ Union, confirmed for AvioRadar, that the threat really happened, but those responsible decided to ignore it and did not activate the necessary mechanisms and procedures to protect people and property in the ACC.
The Union has been waiting for an answer for over a week, after they sent a letter to the director Mario Kunovec Varga asking him to explain the event and the measures (not) taken.
The threat was obviously fake, but it could have been authentic, and then the consequences would have been unimaginable, considering the number of aircraft in Croatian airspace under the supervision of the same area control centre. We are talking about several thousand human lives in the air.
We were interested in whether the incident had been reported to the Zagreb Police Department, and here is their curt response.
“Following your inquiry, we inform you that after the events of August 27, 2023, the police officers of the Zagreb Police Department established all relevant facts and informed the State Attorney’s office about everything established.
In this case, it is not possible to apply the provisions on the criminal responsibility of a person.”
After this answer, it is still not known what happened. But what is more worrying is the silence of the CROCONTROL management towards the media and its controllers, who, because of this event, felt uneasy and concerned that they are not protected in such cases.
