PARIS (AP) — Storms, strikes, computer failures — you can now add "your plane has been seized by the government" to the list of things that can delay your flight.

In France, 149 passengers were preparing to take off for London late Thursday when French authorities ordered their Ryanair Boeing 737 impounded.

The budget carrier owed money and it was "regrettable that the state was forced" to evacuate the plane, the civil aviation authority said.

The passengers had gone through passport control and security and were about to walk on the tarmac to board the plane when airport authorities told them...