Ryanair Flight 4978

SP-RSM, the aircraft involved, in 2019
Incident
Date	23 May 2021 (2021-05-23)
Summary	Forced landing by Belarusian authorities. Two passengers arrested.
Site	Minsk National Airport
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-8AS
Operator	Ryanair
IATA flight No.	FR4978
ICAO flight No.	RYR1TZ
Call sign	RYANAIR 1 TANGO ZULU
Registration	SP-RSM
Flight origin	Athens International Airport
Destination	Vilnius Airport
Occupants	132
Passengers	126
Crew	6

Ryanair Flight 4978 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, on 23 May 2021. While in Belarusian airspace, it was diverted by the Belarusian government to Minsk National Airport where two of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities. The flight was escorted to Minsk by a Belarusian fighter jet under the pretence of a bomb threat on the orders of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. The aircraft was allowed to depart after seven hours, reaching Vilnius eight and a half hours behind schedule.

The event was widely condemned by civil aviation authorities and multiple governments. Initially some European states and airlines responded with new restrictions on flights passing through and from Belarus; on the day after the incident, the European Union initiated new sanctions, including closing off Belarusian airspace and carriers to the EU.

Incident

A Belarusian MiG-29 like this one (seen in 2011) was used to escort the flight.

On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978 (Athens–Vilnius), a Boeing 737-800 carrying 6 crew and 126 passengers, was diverted to Minsk National Airport after ground authorities reported a bomb on board whilst the aircraft was 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) south of Vilnius and 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) west of Minsk, but still in Belarusian airspace. According to the airline, its pilots were notified by Belarusian authorities of "a potential security threat on board" and were instructed to land the aircraft in Minsk. The aircraft had entered Belarusian airspace at 12:30 and the "bomb threat" was passed on by Belarusian air traffic control immediately afterwards. At 12:33, air traffic control mentioned an email from terrorists sent to the Minsk airport.

The flight was intercepted while leaving Belarusian airspace on the orders of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, who according to his press service, personally ordered that the flight be redirected to Minsk and sent a Belarusian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft to escort the flight to Minsk Belarusian government news agency BelTA said that the pilots asked to land in Minsk. Both Ryanair and Belarusian law enforcement said that no bombs were found on board.

The flight course of FR4978 over Belarus on 23 May became unusual even before making the U-turn. Based on Flightradar24 raw data, it was noted that the aircraft did not start to descend over Belarus even though this is usually done in preparation for landing in Vilnius. One possibility for this unusual route is that the pilots tried to maintain the original route to enter Lithuanian airspace as soon as possible, but were forced to divert to Minsk after the Belarusian jet fighter's interference.

Detention of Protasevich

In Minsk, Belarusian opposition activist Roman Protasevich was removed from the aircraft and arrested on the grounds that he was listed on a Belarusian wanted list. His girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, was also removed from the aircraft by Belarusian authorities and detained. No explanation was presented for her detention by Belarusian authorities. Sapega, a Russian citizen and student at the European Humanities University in Vilnius, was confirmed by the university to have been detained.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for an investigation of the incident by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Belarus had placed Protasevich on a list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" the previous year for his role in anti-government protests. Tsikhanouskaya stated that Protasevich "faces the death penalty" in Belarus. According to some passengers, Protasevich asked the cabin crew for refuge but was refused because of Ryanair legal agreements. As he left the aircraft, Protasevich independently told another passenger that "the death penalty awaits me here". Another source said that Protasevich faced fifteen years' imprisonment for his support of terrorist groups in Belarus.

According to sources close to Tsikhanouskaya, Protasevich noticed that he was under surveillance at the Athens airport. In his messages, he stated that a man next to him at the line and the checkpoint tried to take photos of his travel documents. Additionally, Tadeusz Giczan, a member of the Nexta Telegram channel that was previously edited by Protasevich, said that officers of the KGB had been on the flight and that they had "initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew", insisting there was a bomb on board the aircraft. A spokeswoman for the Lithuanian Airports state enterprise, Lina Beisine, told the AFP news agency that Minsk National Airport said that the flight had been diverted "due to a conflict between a member of the crew and the passengers".

Three passengers in addition to Protasevich and Sapega disembarked in Minsk, including two Belarusian citizens and one Greek citizen. Following speculation that the passengers were members of the Belarusian KGB, Belarusian state television aired a video of three people saying they had chosen to stay in Minsk, including a Greek man who said his travel to Vilnius was on his way to Minsk to visit his wife. A Greek government official indicated that an investigation has not indicated a connection between the Greek national and the incident.

The aircraft was allowed to depart after seven hours on the ground at Minsk, reaching Vilnius eight and a half hours late. Passengers noted having to wait 2.5 hours without water, toilet breaks or phone calls, while 50 to 60 Belarusian security officers at Minsk airport carried out checks that included checking the belly of the aircraft for bombs.

Aftermath

Belarus government

File:Roman Protasevich.jpg

Journalist Roman Protasevich, seen here in the video released by Belarusian authorities several hours after his arrest following the forced landing in Minsk.

Following the incident, the Belarusian Ministry of Transport announced that it had set up a commission to investigate the forced landing, stating that it would notify the ICAO and IATA about the investigation's progress and publish a report shortly thereafter.

On 24 May 2021, the director of the Department of Aviation of the Ministry of Transport of Belarus, Artyom Sikorsky, read out an email letter which they said was sent to Minsk airport on 23 May. This message, signed by "Hamas soldiers", included demands to Israel to "cease fire in the Gaza strip" and for the European Union to end its support of Israel. If the demands were not met, the Ryanair aircraft would be blown up over Vilnius, according to the email. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel called the Belarusian explanation "completely implausible". Hamas denied it was in any way connected to the incident, criticising the Belarusian government for "archaic thinking" in a world that "no longer accepts such methods". The email published by Belarusian authorities has a timestamp of 12:57, which is 24 minutes after Belarusian air traffic control notified the Ryanair flight that the message had been received.

On 25 May 2021, the Belarusian Department of Aviation published its transcription of radio communications between the Belarusian air traffic control and the FR 4978 pilots. According to that transcript, the Belarusian flight operator originally told the pilots that they "have information from special services" about the bomb on board, later claimed that the "airport security stuff [sic] informed they received e-mail". When the pilot asked was it Vilnius airport that received an e-mail or the Greek airport (Athens), the Belarusian flight operator said that the bombing alert was received by "several airports". When the pilot asked whose recommendation it had been to land in Minsk, he was informed by the flight operator that it was "our recommendations". As of 25 May, this transcript could not be confirmed by the independent parties. According to Wall Street Journal, CEO of Ryanair Michael O'Leary rejected the version of events made by the Belarusian government officials and called the situation a "premeditated hijacking".

On 26 May 2021, Lukashenko made his first remarks about the incident in a speech to the Belarusian parliament. He said he acted "legally" and claimed that "ill-wishers from outside the country and from inside the country changed their methods of attack on the state", referring to it as "hybrid war". He also accused Protasevich of planning a "bloody rebellion", without giving details. Lukashenko also said that the bomb threat had come from Switzerland, however the Swiss government said that it had no knowledge of any bomb threat on the flight.

Sanctions

The Lithuanian cabinet banned all flights to and from Lithuania flying through Belarusian airspace, effective 00:00 GMT, 25 May (03:00 EEST). British transport secretary Grant Shapps instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request that British airlines avoid Belarusian airspace. Shapps also suspended Belavia, the country's state owned airline's permit to operate in UK airspace. Belavia had been flying into Gatwick Airport prior to the incident. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to halt air traffic with Belarus.

The EU held a meeting of leaders on 24 May in Brussels, Belgium. Before the meeting, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called for the EU to impose fresh economic sanctions on Belarus. Calls were made by eight countries for flights over and to Belarus to be banned. Another suggestion was that ground traffic be banned from entering the EU from Belarus. At the meeting, it was agreed upon to prohibit EU-based airlines from flying through Belarusian airspace, ban Belarusian carriers from flying into EU airspace, and to implement a fresh round of sanctions.

Legal investigation

On 23 May 2021, Lithuanian public prosecutor's office opened pre-trial investigation under the Criminal Code articles of "Hijacking an Aircraft" and "Treatment of Persons Prohibited under International Law". Because the aircraft is registered in Poland and is subject to Polish law, on 24 May 2021, the Prosecutor General of Poland ordered the opening of an investigation into the case.

Reactions

National

• Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Marise Payne condemned the "forced military interception" of a civilian aircraft and called for the "immediate release" of the arrested Belarusian opposition figure.
• Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo advocated for sanctions "including banning Belavia from landing at EU airports" and stated "Roman Protasevich must be immediately released".
• Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Marc Garneau, said that the incident was "a serious interference in civil aviation and a clear attack on media freedom". Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated, "the behaviour of the Belarus regime is outrageous, illegal and completely unacceptable... we also condemn this kind of dangerous interference in civil aviation. Canada has existing sanctions in place against Belarus and will be examining further options."
• Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian said on 25 May 2021, "The facts about the relevant incident [are] not yet clear. Before getting to the bottom of facts and truth, relevant sides should exercise restraint and avoid an escalation of the situation." On May 27, Austrian Airlines cancelled a cargo flight from Vienna to Nanjing, because Chinese authorities did not approve the new route avoiding Belarus. A freighter scheduled to go from Nanjing to Vienna on 28 May was also cancelled due to the same reason.
• Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, from whose country the Ryanair flight originated, described the forced landing of the aircraft as a "shocking act" and said that political pressure on Belarus must be stepped up. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias described the event as a "state-sponsored abduction".
• Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó said that forcing a commercial airliner to land “without any reason whatsoever” was “unacceptable, especially since the airliner in question was travelling between two European Union countries”.
• Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the incident as "a state-sponsored coercive act" and "piracy in the skies".
• Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said the move was "unacceptable" and "a state hijacking". He said he expected the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, to discuss the matter with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: "It is clear that this is not only a European question but a question of the alliance of values that we share with many of our allies, including overseas."
• Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs described the incident as "contrary to international law" and said that the reaction should be "strong and effective". On 24 May, Latvia expelled Belarus's diplomats in retaliation for Belarus expelling Latvia's staff (IIHF Belarus flag controversy).
• Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda accused Belarusian authorities of carrying out an "abhorrent action". He also said: "I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime. The international community must take immediate steps that this does not repeat". Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė informed the public that the pre-trial investigation has been started for forced disappearance and hijacking of the aircraft.
• Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte condemned the "unacceptable and unprecedented" attack.
• The Norwegian foreign minister protested (on 26 May 2021), the Belarusian authorities having forced the airplane to land.
• Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the incident "an unprecedented act of state terrorism that cannot go unpunished".
• Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said in a press conference that "the actions taken by Belarus is completely unacceptable and will be met with further sanctions". In the same speech he also called for an "immediate release of journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega".
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the way Belarus handled the incident was "an absolutely reasonable approach". State Duma deputy Leonid Kalashnikov, who chairs the Duma's committee on post-Soviet affairs, said Belarus had the right to choose "those methods that it considers feasible and necessary" to combat threats to its national security. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova compared the incident to the grounding of Bolivian President Evo Morales' aircraft in Austria in 2013 during the hunt for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden after other European countries refused it permission to refuel or to use their airspace. As Russian aviation authorities did not approve the new routes avoiding Belarus, Air France and Austrian Airlines had to cancel the flight from Paris to Moscow on 26 May, and from Vienna to Moscow on 27 May, while several other European carriers, including KLM and a British Airways cargo flight, have been allowed to land in Russia using new routes.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to suspend direct flights between Ukraine and Belarus and close off Belarusian airspace for the transit of Ukrainian aircraft. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal convened the extraordinary cabinet meeting for 25 May.
• United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the incident was a "shocking assault on civil aviation". Chairman of the British Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat said "If it's not an act of war, it's certainly a warlike act".
• United States President Joe Biden characterized the forced diversion as a 'direct affront to international norms'. He called the incident and the subsequent video with Protasevich 'shameful assaults on both political dissent and the freedom of the press' and called for his release. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the grounding of the flight as a "brazen and shocking act" and demanded an international investigation. There were American citizens on board the flight. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that the Biden administration and the Federal Aviation Administration were assessing whether it was safe for American-flagged airlines to continue to operate in Belarusian airspace.

Multinational organisations

• ICAO voiced its deep concern over "the apparent forced landing" of the flight. An ICAO tweet claimed that the forced landing could be in breach of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted that the grounding of the flight constitutes a "serious and dangerous incident which requires international investigation".
• European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described the incident as "utterly unacceptable", stating that "any violation of international air transport rules must bear consequences."

Legal experts

Ukrainian aviation lawyer Andriy Huk suggested that the interception by the military aircraft and redirection of the aircraft to a more distant airport could have jeopardized the safety of the passengers and crew. He also noted that Appendix 2 of Chicago Convention considers interception of civilian aircraft by the military as a very last resort, but the Belarusian military jet took off immediately. Associate professor at the Russian Higher School of Economics Gleb Bogush stated that the staging (dramatizing) of a bomb threat and the interception of the aircraft by the Belarusian authorities could have jeopardized the passengers and crew and that both the Chicago Convention and 1971 Montreal Convention should be used in the legal assessment of the case. He also called the situation "a very dangerous precedent".

Airlines

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary stated that the event was a "state sponsored hijacking" and that Ryanair believes "there were some [Belarusian] KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well". Cyprus-registered Avia Solutions Group announced that their airlines will no longer use Belarusian airspace. On 24 May, Hungarian airline Wizz Air rerouted a flight from Kyiv, Ukraine, to Tallinn, Estonia, to avoid Belarusian airspace. Latvian airline AirBaltic announced on 24 May that it would no longer fly in Belarusian airspace until the situation became clearer. Dutch airline KLM stated that it was temporarily halting flights to Belarus. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) announced that in line with instructions from the Swedish Transport Agency, the twice-weekly flight between Oslo, Norway and Kyiv would be rerouted to avoid Belarusian airspace. Lufthansa announced it would suspend operations in Belarusian airspace until further notice. Singapore Airlines (SIA) also began rerouting flights bound for Europe to avoid Belarusian airspace from 25 May, citing safety concerns.

Other

Bucharest's Sector 1 mayor Clotilde Armand, following calls from historian Andrei Oișteanu, began preparations to rename the street where the Belarusian embassy is located in Romania to Roman Protasevich Street, citing that the consequence of this gesture of support for the detained journalist would imply that "all correspondence to and from the embassy would bear the dissident journalist’s name and all Belarusian diplomats would have ‘Roman Protasevich’ printed on their business cards". The initiative led to the drafting of a letter from eight Members of the European Parliament suggesting that all EU member states follow suit in renaming their respective streets hosting Belarusian diplomatic missions around the bloc in support of Protasevich in order to send "a strong message to [the] Belarus regime". International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations and the European Cockpit Association issued a joint statement calling the event "an unprecedented act of unlawful interference" and "state-sponsored hijacking". They called for an independent inquiry into the event.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a four-year-old Boeing 737-800, registered in Poland, registration SP-RSM. The aircraft entered service with Ryanair in May 2017 registered EI-FZX in Ireland and was transferred to Ryanair Sun on the Polish aircraft registry as SP-RSM in November 2019.

See also

• 2020–2021 Belarusian protests
• Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation
• Extraordinary rendition
• Evo Morales grounding incident