> "... to depart with passengers and crew ..." Except for a person, right?
Except for 6 people, 4 unnamed russians, journalist and his wife/girlfriend(who is not belarus national)
Out of curiosity, do you know her nationality?
Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
51–60 of 110 posts
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because you'll often be faced with a 500 euro+ fare for a short flight on the national airlines, with either one of WizzAir/RyanAir offering the same flight for 20-80 euro. 9/10 times the service is near-identical to a flagship. 1/10 times, the sub-par exception handling reveals itself. That's a trade-off I make regularly to save 400 euros.
They are cheaper until their not. Family booked a flight to Colorado from Georgia one winter to go skiing. Spirit let us know an hour before the flight that out flight was overbooked and offered us another flight....4 days later. We ended up coughing up an extra $1200 to fly Delta and Spirit never refunded us because "we could have taken the flight we offered". Last time I ever flew with a budget air carrier. Now I f…
The DOT has very specific rules about passenger compensation for passengers "bumped" off of flights via denied boarding:
https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer...
"Over 2 hour arrival delay 400% of one-way fare (airlines may limit the compensation to $1,550 if 400% of the one-way fare is higher than $1,550)"
What they did in your case was illegal. Which has happened at Spirit before: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/dot-fines-spiri...
You can file a complaint here: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-com...
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#53I understand the anger against Ryanair aloofness and its dictatorship compliance, but I think it's diverting energy from the real culprits, which are the kidnappers and their boss.
Yes, totally so.
The count to number of citizens of ex-Union countries killed on NATO turfs is now in hundreds. I'd say you are more likely to be shot/strangled to death/stabbed/poisoned/blow up in Europe than back home.
Total impunity, and an obligatory "serious concern"
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#54I understand the anger against Ryanair aloofness and its dictatorship compliance, but I think it's diverting energy from the real culprits, which are the kidnappers and their boss.
I agree but I don't feel like I can use their service in good conscience now.
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#55I understand the anger against Ryanair aloofness and its dictatorship compliance, but I think it's diverting energy from the real culprits, which are the kidnappers and their boss.
The chain of real culprits doesn't even end in Belarus. Russia officials have now fully supported Belarus and their supposed right to do as they please with planes in their airspace.
And yet the West are still happily doing business with them - see Biden lifting sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not know why anyone uses them still. I find them awful in every way. Will stay-cation if I cannot afford the ticket with another airline.
O‘Leary himself said some people will walk on broken glass to get a cheap flight. They completely own offering a shitty experience.
And I understand it: 2-4 hours of "bad" flying experience is not that much compared with 10 days holidays in a location that with other companies can cost you 10 times more...
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#57I understand the anger against Ryanair aloofness and its dictatorship compliance, but I think it's diverting energy from the real culprits, which are the kidnappers and their boss.
Well, EU skies are no longer safe. If a journalist can be picked up, anyone can be. Ryann air is at fault, pilot really is - he could have kept his course. It would be a game of chicken and risky. So hard to say what is right wrong here. Most importantly, its the fact that EU is weak and Belarus did the math and concluded they would get away with it. Simple As that.
Pilot didn't have a decision to make there.
There's clear guidelines on how to act in the event of interception. He just followed them to the T.
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except for 6 people, 4 unnamed russians, journalist and his wife/girlfriend(who is not belarus national)
Out of curiosity, do you know her nationality?
>Sofia Sapega, a Russian national and student of a Belarusian university-in-exile in Vilnius
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1416106/student-of-...
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#59Worth noting the incident in 2013 where the US and EU collaborated to ground a plane to target a whistleblower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident
Yes, Snowden's treatment is appalling.
What does it have to do with this case?
Re: Ryanair’s statement on diversion to Minsk Airport
#60I wonder if EU airlines will now start avoiding Belarusian airspace if they aren't actually flying in to Belarus. Or I wonder if they will just disclose the flightpath prior to take-off. If I was an Russia/Belarus opposition journalist, I'd be scared shitless to fly around the EU and risk something like this happening.
Realistically nothing will change in the long run. Direct routes are cheaper and >99.9% of flights over such areas work out fine.
As always, unless there's a law or other incentive against it they'll continue to optimise profits and nothing else.