Forced landing of plane in Belarus ‘state-sponsored hijacking’: Ryanair CEO

Belarus, (rt.com), 24 May 2021 - The actions of the Belarusian authorities to force Ryanair Flight 4978 to land at Minsk Airport on Sunday were an act of state-sponsored “hijacking” and “piracy,” according to the chief executive of the Irish low-cost airline.

Speaking to Dublin’s Newstalk radio on Monday, Michael O’Leary took aim at officials in Minsk, and even suggested that KGB agents from Belarus were onboard the aircraft.

On Sunday, a flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to land due to a supposed bomb threat. The plane was escorted to Minsk airport by a Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet. Once it landed, police came onto the aircraft and arrested passenger Roman Protasevich, the former editor-in-chief of opposition Telegram channel Nexta. He currently an employee of Belamova, an outlet founded by Igor Losik, a consultant for US state-run media RFE/RL. Both are on Belarus’ list of extremist organizations.

“This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking ... state-sponsored piracy,” O’Leary said. “It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his traveling companion ... we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well.”

Later on Monday, an official statement from the Ryanair Press Office condemned the forced grounding, and noted that the airline would fully cooperate with the EU and NATO.