Ryanair CEO says diverted flight had to land in Belarus

LONDON (AP) — 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. 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. Belarusian opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich was a passenger on the plane, and he was arrested in Minsk. O’Leary told British lawmakers that the captain repeatedly asked to communicate with Ryanair’s operations control center, but Minsk air traffic officials falsely told him that “Ryanair weren’t answering the phone.”