A Ryanair Boeing 737 jet operating a flight from Greece to Lithuania was ordered to land in Minsk on Sunday, reports the UK's Evening Standard newspaper. Upon arrival, the Belarusian authorities arrested a journalist that was on the flight.
According to reports, the aircraft, flying from Athens to Vilnius and had almost reached Lithuania when it was told there was a security alert and ordered to land at the nearest airport, which was Minsk, the Belarusian capital. Some media reports indicate the captain was told there were explosives on the aircraft, although this has not been confirmed at this stage.
The low-fare-high-fee airline said the crew was notified by Belarus of a potential security threat onboard and were instructed to divert to Minsk. The plane landed safely, passengers were offloaded and security checks were made by local authorities, the airline said in a statement. To avoid paying compensation to the passengers, the airline stated that the delay was regrettable and outside its control. it added.
Belarusian law enforcers took Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old activist off the aircraft and have detained him. Protasevich had been placed on a wanted list following street protests after the controversial and disputed presidential election that saw Alexander Lukashenko retain power, despite numerous complaints of electoral fraud.
It is a move that has drawn condemnation from many political figures in Europe and Lithuania has urged the European Union and NATO to respond. Germany has called for an immediate explanation whereas European Commission head, Ursula von der Leyen, said the action was “utterly unacceptable”. Poland’s Prime Minister said it was a “reprehensible act of state terrorism”.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said: “I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime. The international community must take immediate steps that this does not repeat,”
More top stories you might be interested in.....
Follow this site here.