Belarus Hijacks Ryanair Flight, Forces Landing to Detain Opposition Figure

Clément Beaune, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, described Belarus's hijacking of a Ryanair airliner on Sunday, May 23, 2021 as "an act of state piracy."

“Two days in a row, the Austrian Air Force had Eurofighters take off – because US military aircraft were in the country’s airspace without authorization”

DIE WELT

The forced landing of the aircraft, operating the Athens–Vilnius route, was diverted so the Belarusian regime could detain an opposition figure, sparking a diplomatic storm and leaving a lasting impression.

DIE WELT

Ouest-France frames the Ryanair case as recalling other forced landings cataloged by the BBC, including the 1985 interception of a commercial airliner carrying terrorists by the U.S. Navy.

The same article also links the Ryanair incident to the 1956 FLN airplane hijacking, describing how French intelligence learned that five FLN members would travel from Morocco to Tunisia for a conference with Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba and Moroccan King Mohammed V.

In that 1956 case, the Douglas DC-3 carrying the five men departed Rabat, made a technical stop on the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca, and was hijacked during its final leg when it received orders to divert to Algiers.

Austria launched Eurofighters twice within two days after aircraft of the US Air Force were detected in the country’s airspace without authorization, with consequences to be resolved through diplomatic channels.

Austrian Armed Forces spokesperson Michael Bauer made the incident public on X, and the Swiss news portal 20 Minuten reported that on Sunday two small aircraft of the type PC-12—used by the US Air Force under the designation U-28A—were operating in the Totes Gebirge region in Upper Austria without the required permissions.

Zone Militaire

When Austrian Eurofighters intercepted the aircraft, they turned away and subsequently returned to Munich, and on Monday the incident repeated with again two PC-12s of the US Air Force detected in Austrian airspace.

The report says whether the planes this time had the necessary permissions remains unclear, and Bauer said the consequences would be clarified through diplomatic channels.

The same account adds that there have been no violations of Swiss airspace by US military aircraft recently, and that in the past three days, nine authorized overflights of the US Air Force over Switzerland have occurred.

Austria confirmed the purchase of 12 light combat aircraft M-346FA from Italy under a government-to-government framework, with a budget of 1 billion euros set aside for the program.

“Austria confirms the purchase of 12 light combat aircraft M-346FA from Italy”

Zone Militaire

Zone Militaire says Vienna had contemplated prematurely retiring its fifteen Eurofighter EF-2000 / Typhoon combat aircraft acquired in 2003, and that in November none of the EF-2000s was able to sustain the air defense posture for several days.

The article attributes part of the disruption to a lack of personnel, including air traffic controllers and mechanics, and it quotes Kronen Zeitung’s quip: "The Eurofighter fleet will not be operational for several days, although the aircraft are intact."

Austria’s Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said negotiations were under way with Italy to acquire at least twelve M-316 aircraft, and the purchase was confirmed on December 28.

Zone Militaire adds that the M-346FA is derived from the M-346 Master, has seven external hardpoints, can fly at Mach 1.15, with a range of 1,800 km, and is described by Leonardo as capable of close air support missions, tactical reconnaissance, and airspace policing.