The chief executive of Ryanair Holdings PLC said the airline believes members of Belarus’ secret service were aboard one of its airliners when the plane was forced by a Belarus jet fighter to divert to the country’s capital Minsk on Sunday, calling the incident “a case of state-sponsored hijacking” and further raising global aviation industry alarm over the rerouting.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko scrambled the fighter, which forced the Ryanair commercial aircraft to land as it was passing through Belarus airspace. Authorities there then arrested a prominent journalist and opposition activist, before allowing the plane to continue its journey.
