Well two MiG-29 was actually "escorting" the plane to Minsk and there was KGB agents on board. I don't think crew had much to say. This was pure aircraft hijacking backed up by country (or two).
There is an interview with the First Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus where he confirms that Mig-29 escorted the Boeing
How many cameras do you think exist capable of capturing a MIG-29 at 50k altitude in low population density areas? I doubt there are pictures of most military interceptions of passenger flights, which is no reason to doubt they happened.
The escorting aircraft would not need to fly side by side with the passenger aircraft. They could just fly behind, above or bellow the aircraft quite easily and not be seen by anyone on the aircraft.
Not to mention that Air to Air missiles have a range in the tens of kilometers and the MIG-29 has sensors to observe the aircraft up to 100 km away.
I don't think any of the passengers would have been aware in the slightest if the MIGs where flying 5 km behind the passenger aircraft.
Of course, they could also intercept from a bigger distance or threaten the plane with surface to air missiles and no jets at all.
Intercepting from a bigger distance has the downside that the pilot cannot see the fighters except on electronic displays, all of which have zero security (just like the radio used to communicate with ATC). I wonder how long until someone "intercepts" an aircraft with an SDR and a directional antenna.
But any credible Western source has confirmed the same? For example any of the passengers or the pilots have vouched that the airliner was escorted by military aircraft?
Sure, but once the plane had left Minsk and enterred friendly airspace there's no reason for Ryanair to not mention their missing passengers, other than risk finanicial reprisals (ryanair banned from overflying belarus)
The main purpose of that statement (as always with Ryanair) was to state it was outside of their control and therefore they will auto-reject any claims for delay compensation, regardless of legality.
Because you'll often be faced with a 500 euro+ fare for a short flight on the national airlines, with either one of WizzAir/RyanAir offering the same flight for 20-80 euro.
9/10 times the service is near-identical to a flagship. 1/10 times, the sub-par exception handling reveals itself. That's a trade-off I make regularly to save 400 euros.
There is a major difference: space. I cannot sit in a ryanair/transavia/whizzair seat for more than takeoff before the person in front has destroyed my knees. Most "premium" airlines have 1-2 inches more space and the option for more spacious seats.
That is true. Not a major concern for most shorter people though. As a teenager I once did a 12 hour flight (with refuel stop) on a charter 757 with 29" seat space. Didn't find it terribly uncomfortable back then to be honest. Apparently Ryanair has 30" space.
I always buy extra leg-room (like seat by emergency exit), because I am tall as fuck. Problem solved.
I fly a lot with RyanAir, WizzAir and the other discount-airlines, because what they offer is great value - and when you upgrade a bit, it is not terrible.
A ticket listed for 50EUR, I usually end up paying around 100EUR with extras (legroom, luggage allowance).
They are cheaper until their not. Family booked a flight to Colorado from Georgia one winter to go skiing. Spirit let us know an hour before the flight that out flight was overbooked and offered us another flight....4 days later.
We ended up coughing up an extra $1200 to fly Delta and Spirit never refunded us because "we could have taken the flight we offered". Last time I ever flew with a budget air carrier.
Now I fly Delta, I pay more per flight but I've been screwed over in the same manner exactly zero times since. In fact Delta has gotten me out of situations of my own doing that Spirit or any budget airline would have shrugged at and told me to suit myself.
At this point I consider the premium on airfare an insurance policy of sorts, might pay an extra $100-200 per flight but if that means not running the risk of screwing up a trip I paid thousands to put together, I'll take it.
When did this go into effect? Years back we tried to land twice due to fog then had to wait overnight with no accomodations to take the bus zero compensation. Still won't fly Southwest because they merged with the offender.
The only regulations for delays in the US that helps passengers is some specifics about not stranding you in the aircraft/tarmac for more than 3 hours (domestic flights) or 4 hours (international flights).
I don't think you understand, friend. The airline market in Europe is like a whole different world of deregulated competition. For example: ryanair operates a scratch card gambling thing on all of their flights once they reach cruising altitude. Because this is considered similar to international waters, and Ireland's advantageous gambling laws can be observed. (as a result, they will do anything they can to fill seats. Planning to make up any loss on cheap tickets elsewhere. I'm talking bonkers shit, like flash sales on 99c tickets)
Assuming you don't get caught by every hidden charge along the way, an airplane ticket isn't going to cost you >$100, even if you spring for "business class".
I think insurance would make a better insurance policy in your case. (especially when the airline tries to rob you)
The situation in the US with budget airlines is not comparable to Europe. Europe has very strong consumer protections.
From just a small percentage of cancelled Ryanair/WizzAir flights I am actually not far from all-together free flying after they paid out the compensation.
The really annoying part is that there are no reasonable prices. Often the options are for example Ryanair for 50, or KLM for 500. I'd happily pay more than 50, but I'm not paying 500 for a 2h flight.
And I understand it: 2-4 hours of "bad" flying experience is not that much compared with 10 days holidays in a location that with other companies can cost you 10 times more...
Let's see, will fly with them tomorrow. Faro->Porto (550km). 9.95 euros. 50 minutes flight
Train-> 6 hours, which is usually 7+ due to delays (last one I did in December was 7.20 making me late for a training) and costs 39 euros (20 if I buy 1 month in advance)
National airline -> No direct flight, need to fly to Lisbon and then Porto, total around 4-5 hours (two flights + layover), 80+ euros last time I checked. Service exactly the same (last time I used them, not even a glass of water was offered due to short fly times)
Car -> 5 or so hours, around 100 euros taking in account tolls + gas (is ok if 2+ people are doing the trip though)
Yeah, I will take the short sitting space (fuck, I would even stand in this route if needed, I have had longer train rides where I had to stand).
People get so uptight about cheap airlines (especially the cheaper it gets, as if it's supposed to get better). It's a bus in the sky that takes you 10x farther, 10x faster, and is the safest form of transportation in existence!
"Ooh I'm so cramped, and I didn't even get a free meal" so either deal with the hassle, time and cost of any other form of transit, or fork over 300 more euros for a big seat on a different airline!
I live in the US, and we almost never get Ryanair prices. I think I've paid 12 euros to fly Ryanair between two countries. That's insane.
> Let's see, will fly with them tomorrow. Faro->Porto (550km). 9.95 euros. 50 minutes flight
> Train-> 6 hours, which is usually 7+ due to delays (last one I did in December was 7.20 making me late for a training) and costs 39 euros (20 if I buy 1 month in advance)
Look, I do not strictly disagree with your comparison and I have often taken low cost airlines for the same reasons here and in asia (though airasia is a whole other class above ryanair so i'm not sure it's fair to compare them).
But you're missing four important things:
1. those 50 minutes are actually at least 90 in reality, from entering the starting airport to leaving the destination airport, when taking into account check in and baggage, depending on the crowd.
2. the airport they use is off the city by a fair bit, adding at least 20 minutes of car or rail travel + costs, often both side (in and out)
3. if you need to add any kind of baggage + the link to the city, you end up costing the same as train
4. depends on rail link but here in france for such travel it's common to have a tgv or similar, which gives you ample room for your legs and a proper table for your laptop, along with power, so you can work
Low cost airlines have their advantages, but it's not that clear cut over train: 2h/2h30 where you can't do anything and unpleasant vs 6h where you are not cramped and can reliably work and / or relax. At least for intra-national travel at eu-scale train should be majorly pushed, and I personally agree with my country's plan to do so.
While I know in other countries it isn't like this, here Faro/Porto is the same airports that Qatar/Tap/SwissAir, so it isn't a difference at all.
I never travel with baggage. Even in not cheap airlines, this add 30+ minutes for checkin and pick up also
I gave examples for Portugal. All these I did a lot. I used to travel Porto->faro and back many times a week (work in one place, my son in another). There is no real option here unless you are a full anti-flight person. I took the train down to faro last week but only because I wanted to do a training and times werent compatible, otherwise I would have flown, there isn't even a comparision here
I live in Faro and when I have to fly, I drive to Malaga and fly from there. But yeah, that is not to Porto but international. Never flew inside PT (inside spain, I do fly malaga Madrid with air nostrum ).
when I lived in Granada, to travel to Madrid was either 6-7 hours by slow train, or 1 hr by bus to Malaga then 2.5 hrs by fast train, or... 5 hours by first class bus service directly from Granada. The first class bus included food and what seemed to be unlimited beer and wine for like 30 euro. No comparison. This is my favorite option for point to point travel in Iberia if there is no fast train nearby.
Easyjet are even worse. During corona they canceled bookings for British tourists wanting to get back home and resold the flights for 5x more while trying to claim kudos for running "rescue" flights.
The blame of this debacle does not lie with RyanAir, notwithstanding the way that their press release reads like "then Mrs Lincoln was slightly delayed at the theatre."
> the pilot's job is to follow instructions from ATC
... until pirates entered to cabin:
> What we know so far: KGB operatives boarded the plane in Athens this morning together with Roman Protasevich (he noticed dodgy-looking ppl taking pics of him at the gate). Then when the plane has entered Belarus airspace KGB officers initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew (1/2)[0]
> insisting there’s an IED onboard. Eventually the crew was forced to send out SOS (literally moments before the plane would've left Belarus airspace). MiG-29 took off and escorted it to Minsk. Security services entered the plane and arrested Protasevich¹. (2/2)[1]
¹ Later yesterday press published info that not only Protasevich was arrested, but also his girlfriend which was also on that plane.
To be sure, you obey the person pointing a weapon at you, instead of ATC.
But it's moot; the pilots would likely not have known that these air pirates and Belarus ATC were acting in concert, unless the pirates wanted them to know that. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals.
A pilot is absolutely in its right to ignore ATC if they think it's necessary for the safety of the passengers and/or aircraft. ATC is a service to pilots in the air, they provide support. The ultimate decision how to perform the flight lies with the captain.
If the aircraft was intercepted by fighters, that makes it more difficult to disobey ATCs orders. But if an ATC tells the aircraft to do X, the pilot can say «No, I'm not going to follow your instructions (because it would endanger the safety of the aircraft and/or passengers) and I'm going to do Y instead». It helps to convince the ATC of the situation if the pilot declares an emergency. Declaring an emergency is something that happens all the time, at most it means some paperwork for the pilot after they land.
I doubt the pilots knew anything about the reason for the piracy. The only thing they knew was what the ATC told them, no matter how outlandish, and that they had MiGs intercepting them.
Right. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals. It's likely that by design of the criminals, the pilots were unaware or unsure of what was actually going on, until it was too late. The IED story turned out to be false, and we still don't know about the MiGs.
I understand the anger against Ryanair aloofness and its dictatorship compliance, but I think it's diverting energy from the real culprits, which are the kidnappers and their boss.
Ryann air is at fault, pilot really is - he could have kept his course. It would be a game of chicken and risky. So hard to say what is right wrong here.
Most importantly, its the fact that EU is weak and Belarus did the math and concluded they would get away with it. Simple
As that.
Pilot was told their flight was being diverted due to a suspected bomb on board. What "game of chicken" would make a pilot doubt that instruction and chose to keep flying, given what the information they were being presented at the time?
It's not like they called to the plane and said "we'd like to kidnap a passenger, please land" and the pilot went along with it.
The game of chicken was "divert to an airport that's further away than your intended destination or we will shoot you down". What would make the pilot doubt the instruction would be the fact that the diversion airport was significantly further away: https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/0...
The count to number of citizens of ex-Union countries killed on NATO turfs is now in hundreds. I'd say you are more likely to be shot/strangled to death/stabbed/poisoned/blow up in Europe than back home.
Total impunity, and an obligatory "serious concern"
The chain of real culprits doesn't even end in Belarus. Russia officials have now fully supported Belarus and their supposed right to do as they please with planes in their airspace.
And yet the West are still happily doing business with them - see Biden lifting sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
The formatting looks awful. I thought this was a fake.
Like someone opened Word and typed this with the default style... Don't they have a more professional looking template?
The secretary and the marketing department the PR department most likely do but I suppose the higher up who drafted and sent this doesn't care much about niceties.
> Nothing untoward was found and authorities cleared the aircraft to depart together with passengers and crew after approx. 7hrs on the ground in Minsk.
Not all passengers. One passenger was arrested in Minsk. Why would they omit it/lie like that?
Because in that case nothing happened, even though we expect better from established democracies compared to the dictatorship from Belarus. And most of us live in those established democracies and not in Belarus, hence what happened back then was even more f/cked up.
We expect "better" from democracies largely because they have more sophisticated and effective ways to defang troubling journalists.
You don't really need to murder or imprison them when you can just make it so no one trusts them or they can't find an audience.
That said I do think Belarus fucked up here evaluating by their own best interests. Having an open dictatorship in Europe has always made a lot of people uncomfortable but was tolerated as long as they didn't draw too much attention to it or do any scary shit to outsiders.
Here they kinda did both. Would not surprise me if this ends up being a huge problem for them long-term.
It helps Lukashenko win the domestic propaganda war.
The West is trying to present itself as a viable alternative to Russia to Belarussian people. The opposition politicians he is attacking largely support leaning westwards. How do they criticize this without appearing hypocritical? It's very hard.
If the West tries to punish Belarus with sanctions that hurt the ordinary Belarussian it will likely look even worse.
I can't actually think of a scenario here where Lukashenko doesn't win something.
Nothing. It is however valid to point out the staggering similarity where a nation state forces an airplane to land in order to arrest/try to arrest a person the government considers a criminal.
Human rights violations are human rights violations, regardless of who commits them. In the Russian space, they occur daily, in the West they are rarer. What is the point?
I think any reasonable person understands that international politics are inherently driven by national interests and thus are hypocritical by default, because often there are no perfect solutions that are acceptable to everyone. Least you can do is to call hypocrisy out when it happens, and ask yourself whether it was at least done in your interest as a citizen or not. If you want to compare political systems, do it systematically, not on case-by-case basis. Russia had jailed many more political activists and has far more draconian laws against freedom of speech and freedom of assembly than Western countries, even if Western countries sometimes unjustifiably limit these freedoms as well.
I wonder if EU airlines will now start avoiding Belarusian airspace if they aren't actually flying in to Belarus. Or I wonder if they will just disclose the flightpath prior to take-off.
If I was an Russia/Belarus opposition journalist, I'd be scared shitless to fly around the EU and risk something like this happening.
"authorities cleared the aircraft to depart together with passengers"
Good to know that if Ryanair says "passengers" they mean "some of the passengers".
Edit: Also, as Flightradar24 states, Minsk was not the nearest airport at the time the plane was diverted, and it likely was never the fastest-to-reach airport while the plane was over Belarus, because the pilots would be prepared for a landing in Vilnius.
The plane crossed the border into Belarus at ~9:30 around (51.929851, 25.369313), 280 km from Minsk airport, 300 km from Vilnius airport, with the Vilnius runway at a favorable angle and the Minsk runways perpendicular to the shortest path from their position to Minsk. So Ryanair's statement that it was the nearest airport sounds like bullshit too. At the time the plane made the turn (starting at ~9:45), it was about 2 minutes away from leaving Belarus airspace.
The very sad thing is that there’s a lot of firms in Silicon Valley that do a lot of business with Belarus, totally ignoring the monstrosities of Lukashenko.
Mapbox for example, sources a considerable amount of its workforce from Minsk, and they’re little better than slaves because they can’t quit or complain or they’ll be sent to the mines.
We sit here and say that this kind of behavior is villainous, but we happily do business with those who profit off of the suffering of others. For shame.
Humans aren't responsible for the actions of their brothers. What they're doing is wrong, but its not a we. perhaps you were looking to make a call to action? a link to the contact points might go a long way.
I, too, am curious about the contrast between these two situations. Presumably the US was truthful about the reason for the diversion, while Belarus apparently lied.
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[ 2.0 ms ] story [ 192 ms ] threadInfo about MiG's escort NOT verified — there are no any photos/videos at this moment which shows MiG-29 side-by-side with Ryanair's plane.
https://youtu.be/dsyfJ_HqjtQ
Additionally there is an alleged video of the Mig landing after escort with 6 air-to-air missiles visible
https://youtu.be/AV8Im44ZtoI
(Based on the passenger numbers, assuming 3+3 seating, and assuming everyone has, on average, one smartphone with a camera).
Not to mention that Air to Air missiles have a range in the tens of kilometers and the MIG-29 has sensors to observe the aircraft up to 100 km away.
I don't think any of the passengers would have been aware in the slightest if the MIGs where flying 5 km behind the passenger aircraft.
https://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/2015/media/intercep...
Of course, they could also intercept from a bigger distance or threaten the plane with surface to air missiles and no jets at all.
Intercepting from a bigger distance has the downside that the pilot cannot see the fighters except on electronic displays, all of which have zero security (just like the radio used to communicate with ATC). I wonder how long until someone "intercepts" an aircraft with an SDR and a directional antenna.
Source?
And just updated Ryanair's statement still does not include info about two "arrested" (kidnapped!) passengers of FR4978 flight in Minsk...
JFTR, Originally title of actual thread on HN was: “Ryanair’s statement on FR4978 does not include info about arrested passengers”[0]
[0] https://twitter.com/hn_frontpage/status/1396775444071002113
[0] https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1396749633318264834
Not sure why this story is getting so much attention on HN tbh. I guess the connection to Snowden makes it mildly relevant.
9/10 times the service is near-identical to a flagship. 1/10 times, the sub-par exception handling reveals itself. That's a trade-off I make regularly to save 400 euros.
I fly a lot with RyanAir, WizzAir and the other discount-airlines, because what they offer is great value - and when you upgrade a bit, it is not terrible.
A ticket listed for 50EUR, I usually end up paying around 100EUR with extras (legroom, luggage allowance).
We ended up coughing up an extra $1200 to fly Delta and Spirit never refunded us because "we could have taken the flight we offered". Last time I ever flew with a budget air carrier.
Now I fly Delta, I pay more per flight but I've been screwed over in the same manner exactly zero times since. In fact Delta has gotten me out of situations of my own doing that Spirit or any budget airline would have shrugged at and told me to suit myself.
At this point I consider the premium on airfare an insurance policy of sorts, might pay an extra $100-200 per flight but if that means not running the risk of screwing up a trip I paid thousands to put together, I'll take it.
https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer...
"Over 2 hour arrival delay 400% of one-way fare (airlines may limit the compensation to $1,550 if 400% of the one-way fare is higher than $1,550)"
What they did in your case was illegal. Which has happened at Spirit before: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/dot-fines-spiri...
You can file a complaint here: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-com...
"There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed"
https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer...
The only regulations for delays in the US that helps passengers is some specifics about not stranding you in the aircraft/tarmac for more than 3 hours (domestic flights) or 4 hours (international flights).
Assuming you don't get caught by every hidden charge along the way, an airplane ticket isn't going to cost you >$100, even if you spring for "business class".
I think insurance would make a better insurance policy in your case. (especially when the airline tries to rob you)
From just a small percentage of cancelled Ryanair/WizzAir flights I am actually not far from all-together free flying after they paid out the compensation.
I use them a lot since they are the only ones which fly where I am going.
Train-> 6 hours, which is usually 7+ due to delays (last one I did in December was 7.20 making me late for a training) and costs 39 euros (20 if I buy 1 month in advance)
National airline -> No direct flight, need to fly to Lisbon and then Porto, total around 4-5 hours (two flights + layover), 80+ euros last time I checked. Service exactly the same (last time I used them, not even a glass of water was offered due to short fly times)
Car -> 5 or so hours, around 100 euros taking in account tolls + gas (is ok if 2+ people are doing the trip though)
Yeah, I will take the short sitting space (fuck, I would even stand in this route if needed, I have had longer train rides where I had to stand).
"Ooh I'm so cramped, and I didn't even get a free meal" so either deal with the hassle, time and cost of any other form of transit, or fork over 300 more euros for a big seat on a different airline!
I live in the US, and we almost never get Ryanair prices. I think I've paid 12 euros to fly Ryanair between two countries. That's insane.
> Train-> 6 hours, which is usually 7+ due to delays (last one I did in December was 7.20 making me late for a training) and costs 39 euros (20 if I buy 1 month in advance)
Look, I do not strictly disagree with your comparison and I have often taken low cost airlines for the same reasons here and in asia (though airasia is a whole other class above ryanair so i'm not sure it's fair to compare them).
But you're missing four important things:
1. those 50 minutes are actually at least 90 in reality, from entering the starting airport to leaving the destination airport, when taking into account check in and baggage, depending on the crowd.
2. the airport they use is off the city by a fair bit, adding at least 20 minutes of car or rail travel + costs, often both side (in and out)
3. if you need to add any kind of baggage + the link to the city, you end up costing the same as train
4. depends on rail link but here in france for such travel it's common to have a tgv or similar, which gives you ample room for your legs and a proper table for your laptop, along with power, so you can work
Low cost airlines have their advantages, but it's not that clear cut over train: 2h/2h30 where you can't do anything and unpleasant vs 6h where you are not cramped and can reliably work and / or relax. At least for intra-national travel at eu-scale train should be majorly pushed, and I personally agree with my country's plan to do so.
I never travel with baggage. Even in not cheap airlines, this add 30+ minutes for checkin and pick up also
I gave examples for Portugal. All these I did a lot. I used to travel Porto->faro and back many times a week (work in one place, my son in another). There is no real option here unless you are a full anti-flight person. I took the train down to faro last week but only because I wanted to do a training and times werent compatible, otherwise I would have flown, there isn't even a comparision here
I would prefer to fly with Ryanair these days.
e.g. https://twitter.com/DavideLeDingue/status/139653511684805837...
The blame of this debacle does not lie with RyanAir, notwithstanding the way that their press release reads like "then Mrs Lincoln was slightly delayed at the theatre."
https://twitter.com/jen20/status/1396661846187335680
... until pirates entered to cabin:
> What we know so far: KGB operatives boarded the plane in Athens this morning together with Roman Protasevich (he noticed dodgy-looking ppl taking pics of him at the gate). Then when the plane has entered Belarus airspace KGB officers initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew (1/2)[0]
> insisting there’s an IED onboard. Eventually the crew was forced to send out SOS (literally moments before the plane would've left Belarus airspace). MiG-29 took off and escorted it to Minsk. Security services entered the plane and arrested Protasevich¹. (2/2)[1]
¹ Later yesterday press published info that not only Protasevich was arrested, but also his girlfriend which was also on that plane.
[0] https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446650718117890
[1] https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446652349784068
But it's moot; the pilots would likely not have known that these air pirates and Belarus ATC were acting in concert, unless the pirates wanted them to know that. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals.
If the aircraft was intercepted by fighters, that makes it more difficult to disobey ATCs orders. But if an ATC tells the aircraft to do X, the pilot can say «No, I'm not going to follow your instructions (because it would endanger the safety of the aircraft and/or passengers) and I'm going to do Y instead». It helps to convince the ATC of the situation if the pilot declares an emergency. Declaring an emergency is something that happens all the time, at most it means some paperwork for the pilot after they land.
If a journalist can be picked up, anyone can be.
Ryann air is at fault, pilot really is - he could have kept his course. It would be a game of chicken and risky. So hard to say what is right wrong here.
Most importantly, its the fact that EU is weak and Belarus did the math and concluded they would get away with it. Simple As that.
It's not like they called to the plane and said "we'd like to kidnap a passenger, please land" and the pilot went along with it.
Avoiding that request could have been another MH17 story.
EU and NATO must show their strength now, it is not up to Ryanair anymore.
MH17 is not related in any way to "bomb on a board" cases.
Russian state terrorists, invaded in Ukraine, shot down MH17 using surface-to-air missile.[0]
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17
Thank god that it did not happen to Ryanair.
It boggles my mind that anyone would think like this.
There is always a choice, and the latest information (3 days later) show he had more of a choice than previously disclosed.
There's clear guidelines on how to act in the event of interception. He just followed them to the T.
The count to number of citizens of ex-Union countries killed on NATO turfs is now in hundreds. I'd say you are more likely to be shot/strangled to death/stabbed/poisoned/blow up in Europe than back home.
Total impunity, and an obligatory "serious concern"
And yet the West are still happily doing business with them - see Biden lifting sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
No, that's the Authentic Ryanair experience.
"..authorities cleared the aircraft to depart together with passangers and crew.."
One passanger, Roman Protasevich, was removed fron the plane, the sole reason why this whole thing happened.
There was also info that 6 passengers was removed in Minsk: Protasevich, his girlfriend and probably 4 Belarus' KGB agents.
Not all passengers. One passenger was arrested in Minsk. Why would they omit it/lie like that?
Except for a person, right?
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1416106/student-of-...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident
It exposes the hypocrisy in the statements coming from our governments right now.
You don't really need to murder or imprison them when you can just make it so no one trusts them or they can't find an audience.
That said I do think Belarus fucked up here evaluating by their own best interests. Having an open dictatorship in Europe has always made a lot of people uncomfortable but was tolerated as long as they didn't draw too much attention to it or do any scary shit to outsiders.
Here they kinda did both. Would not surprise me if this ends up being a huge problem for them long-term.
The West is trying to present itself as a viable alternative to Russia to Belarussian people. The opposition politicians he is attacking largely support leaning westwards. How do they criticize this without appearing hypocritical? It's very hard.
If the West tries to punish Belarus with sanctions that hurt the ordinary Belarussian it will likely look even worse.
I can't actually think of a scenario here where Lukashenko doesn't win something.
Really ?
Dead, deep in you heart, ask yourself what the USA would have done if Snowdon or Assange were on a Mexican flight over the continental USA to Canada.
• did not affect Belarus in any way.
• had nothing to do with Greece, Lithuania or Ireland, the countries most directly affected in this incident.
• resulted in immediate diplomatic apologies from both Spain and France, two of the countries that were involved.
• was condemned by the U.N. Secretary General.
If I was an Russia/Belarus opposition journalist, I'd be scared shitless to fly around the EU and risk something like this happening.
As always, unless there's a law or other incentive against it they'll continue to optimise profits and nothing else.
1: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL3N2NB1ZX
https://twitter.com/UK_CAA/status/1396855373810786304
Good to know that if Ryanair says "passengers" they mean "some of the passengers".
Edit: Also, as Flightradar24 states, Minsk was not the nearest airport at the time the plane was diverted, and it likely was never the fastest-to-reach airport while the plane was over Belarus, because the pilots would be prepared for a landing in Vilnius.
The plane crossed the border into Belarus at ~9:30 around (51.929851, 25.369313), 280 km from Minsk airport, 300 km from Vilnius airport, with the Vilnius runway at a favorable angle and the Minsk runways perpendicular to the shortest path from their position to Minsk. So Ryanair's statement that it was the nearest airport sounds like bullshit too. At the time the plane made the turn (starting at ~9:45), it was about 2 minutes away from leaving Belarus airspace.
Mapbox for example, sources a considerable amount of its workforce from Minsk, and they’re little better than slaves because they can’t quit or complain or they’ll be sent to the mines.
We sit here and say that this kind of behavior is villainous, but we happily do business with those who profit off of the suffering of others. For shame.
Humans aren't responsible for the actions of their brothers. What they're doing is wrong, but its not a we. perhaps you were looking to make a call to action? a link to the contact points might go a long way.
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident
[1] - https://youtu.be/-_mqzSbAPXM
Sounds like he is in the hospital with "heart problems" now...