4 ms·
At the point they diverted they could have also flown to Kaunas (a Ryanair base) if the concern was to avoid flying over Vilnius. That would also have been clos
by fy20 5y ago
At the point they diverted they could have also flown to Kaunas (a Ryanair base) if the concern was to avoid flying over Vilnius. That would also have been closer than Minsk.
- StavrosK 5y agoI don't think the pilot was aware of any reason not to fly to Minsk at the time.
- bobthepanda 5y agoFlight plans include alternate airports, and Minsk is far enough away compared to other airports to not be on a filed flight plan for this particular route.
- VBprogrammer 5y agoFiled alternatives are for fuel planning and satisfying the bureaucracy (showing the flight complies with ETOPS etc). In a real emergency the pilots will select the most convenient airport based on whatever factors they are presented with. Especially so in today's world of paperless cockpits, in the past having the correct approaches to hand might have tipped the balance in favour of a planned alternative.
- bobthepanda 5y agoSure, and judging by the transcript Minsk wasn't the pilot's choice.