CIS
Forced diversion fallout continues
(Photo
AirTeamImages.com/Markus Mainka) EUROPEAN LOW-COST airline Ryanair has accused the Belarusian authorities of an “act of air piracy”, after one of its flights was intercepted by a MiG-29 fighter jet and forced to divert to Minsk while en route to Lithuania on May 23.
The Boeing 737-800, SP-RSM (c/n 44791), was flying Flight FR4978 between Athens, Greece, and the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Around 60 miles from its destination, while still in Belarusian airspace, it is believed that air traffic control informed the twinjet of a security threat involving a bomb.