WaPo: U.S. Officials Scrambled to Nab Snowden ("Decision to Force a Foreign Leader’s Plane to Land")

[ljm2002]

99. So, no link then...

...just a long hand-waving post explaining why you don't need to provide one.

I accept that you and/or your b.i.l. have insider knowledge of flight procedures. It is interesting and informative. However, what neither of you has is inside information on this particular incident.

You say, "For whatever reasons three countries refused that permission. By report, France because someone wanted to contact the French Foreign Ministry, Italy and Spain because they could not confirm the new flight plan did not conflict with scheduled flights." I must ask you, is that normal procedure? When a plane suffers a small malfunction in mid-flight, and submits an amended flight plan, is it really normal for several countries to suddenly deny them access to the airspace, forcing them to make a u-turn en route and find a country willing to let them land? If so, please cite a few other instances where this occurred.