Ryanair CEO says diverted flight had to land in Belarus

The chief of budget airline Ryanair says the pilot of a flight that was diverted to Belarus last month had no alternative but to land the plane in Minsk

LONDON -- The pilot of a Ryanair flight that was diverted to Belarus last month, leading to the arrest of a dissident Belarusian journalist, had no alternative but to land the plane in Minsk, the head of the budget airline said Tuesday. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary appeared before a British Parliament committee to give evidence on the May 23 diversion. The scheduled flight from Greece to Lithuania changed course and landed in Belarus' capital. Opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich, who had been a passenger on the plane, was arrested. O'Leary told British lawmakers that Minsk air traffic control warned the flight crew of a “credible threat” that if the plane entered Lithuanian airspace, “a bomb on board would be detonated.” The captain repeatedly asked to communicate with Ryanair’s operations control center, but Minsk air traffic officials told him — falsely — that “Ryanair weren’t answering the phone," O'Leary said.