Ryanair flight 4978

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Ryanair flight 4978
GDN SP-RSM 1.jpg

The Boeing 737 at Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport in July 2019
Accident summary
Type of accident suspected kidnapping
place Minsk National Airport , Belarus
BelarusBelarus 
date May 23, 2021
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 737-800
operator Ryanair Sun for Ryanair Ireland
IrelandIreland 
Mark SP-RSM Poland
PolandPoland 
Departure airport Athens-Eleftherios Venizelos Airport , Greece
GreeceGreece 
Destination airport Vilnius Airport , Lithuania
LithuaniaLithuania 
Passengers 121
crew 6th
Lists of aviation accidents

The Ryanair flight 4978 ( flight number FR4978 , call sign RYR1TZ ) was an international scheduled flight from Athens ( Greece ) to Vilnius ( Lithuania ), on which a Boeing 737 was forced to fly by Belarusian authorities on May 23, 2021 shortly before entering Lithuanian airspace Minsk (Belarus) was diverted. After landing, the regime-critical Belarusian journalist Raman Pratassewitsch , co-founder and former editor-in-chief of the opposition network Nexta , and his Russian partner Sofia Sapega were arrested.

Flight history

Ryanair flight 4978 (Europe)
Departure airport Athens (36 ° 56 ′ 11 ″ N, 23 ° 56 ′ 40 ″ E)
Departure airport Athens
Destination airport Vilnius (54 ° 38 ′ 3 ″ N, 25 ° 17 ′ 9 ″ E)
Destination airport Vilnius
Minsk Airport (53 ° 52 ′ 57 ″ N, 28 ° 1 ′ 57 ″ E)
Minsk airport
Departure and arrival airport of flight FR4978 and Minsk airport

The aircraft with the Polish registration number SP-RSM took off on May 23, 2021 at 10:29 a.m. local time, about 19 minutes late from Athens-Eleftherios Venizelos Airport . His destination was Vilnius Airport with a scheduled landing at 1:00 p.m. local time.

After about two hours of flight time, the Boeing 737-800 reached Belarusian airspace, where the pilots were informed of an alleged bomb threat by the Belarusian air traffic control . According to Belarusian information, there was information on possible explosives on board. The flight was to 12:46 local time, shortly before the test flight in the Lithuanian air space, for an alleged emergency landing to the National Airport Minsk redirected. President Aljaksandr Lukashenka is said to have given instructions for this himself. The aircraft was supported by an armed Belarusian fighter plane type MiG-29 accompanied. According to reports, the Belarusian authorities threatened to shoot down the civil aircraft; Belarus did not confirm these reports. The flight history, which can be viewed on the Flightradar24 website, shows that the aircraft was significantly closer to the destination Vilnius than to Minsk at the time of the diversion. At 12:48 p.m. local time, the pilots are reported to have sent a Mayday emergency call.

Such a Belarusian MiG-29 intercepted the passenger aircraft.

The plane landed in Minsk at 1:21 p.m. local time. The regime-critical journalist Raman Pratassewitsch , who was on board, was subsequently arrested. The student Sofia Sapega, Pratassevich's partner and Russian citizen, was also arrested. There was no evidence of explosives in the luggage of the passengers.

The plane took off again from Minsk at 8:47 p.m. local time and reached the destination airport in Vilnius at 9:27 p.m. local time. This happened against the background of numerous demands for the release of the aircraft and the passengers, among others by the Prime Minister of Lithuania , Ingrida Šimonytė , and the EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell . In addition to Pratassevich and his partner, four other passengers, a Belarusian and three Russians, did not take the onward flight to Vilnius.

Alleged bomb threat

The following day, the Belarusian foreign ministry read out a threatening letter from a group that described itself as " Hamas soldiers" as alleged evidence of the bomb threat . In the letter, Israel called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2021 (although this had already existed since May 21) and that the EU no longer sided with Israel in the conflict. Otherwise a bomb would explode on the plane over Vilnius. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum denied any knowledge or involvement of his group.

The email containing the alleged bomb threat is said to have arrived at Minsk Airport at 12:57 p.m. local time, almost half an hour after the Belarusian authorities diverted the plane to Minsk.

The Russian news website RBK published the alleged radio protocol with Belarusian air traffic control on May 25, the authenticity of which has not yet been confirmed.

Whereabouts of those arrested

Raman Pratassewitsch in his staged confession video

For the time being, there was no information about Raman Pratassevich's whereabouts. According to press reports, Sofia Sapega was allegedly taken to Okrestina prison .

On the evening of May 24, 2021, a video of Pratassevich was published in a state- affiliated news channel on Telegram . In the video, he explains that he is in the No. 1 remand prison in Minsk. He has “no heart problems” and is “in good health”. The visibly abused Pratassevich declared that the guards would treat him "respectfully". He also stated that he was cooperating with the police and had already confessed to "organizing mass protests " (which is a criminal offense) .

A similar video by Sofia Sapega was released on May 25, 2021. In the video, she admitted to running the Telegram channel Black Book, Belarus , which published personal information about Belarusian security forces. It is likely that this video was also made under duress. She was initially "sentenced" to two months' imprisonment.

Reactions

Political reactions

The forced diversion of the flight to Minsk provoked numerous critical reactions from around the world. The Lithuanian government called on the other EU member states to avoid Belarusian airspace in the future and to appoint the Belarusian ambassador to protest against the use of fighter planes to divert civil scheduled flights. Germany also hired the Belarusian ambassador Denis Sidorenko . The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen described the incident as "completely unacceptable", later also as " kidnapping " and "attack on democracy and European sovereignty":

“Belarus used its control of its airspace to carry out a state-controlled kidnapping. As a result, the safety of flights through Belarusian airspace can no longer be guaranteed and the Council will take action to prohibit Belarusian aircraft from flying over EU airspace and accessing EU airports. "

- Ursula von der Leyen

EU Council President Charles Michel called on the Belarusian government to release the detainee immediately and announced that the incident would "not be without consequences". NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was similarly critical and the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the incident an "act of state terrorism ". The Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney classified the incident, just like his Greek counterpart, as "state-covered air piracy ". The Belarusian opposition party Svyatlana Zichanouskaya condemned the action and said that Pratassevich would face the death penalty after his arrest . Chancellor Angela Merkel described the video with Pratassewitsch as "shocking"; he must be released immediately. At a meeting of the European Council on May 24, 2021, all 27 European heads of state and government condemned the actions of the Belarusian regime and decided on sanctions .

Maria Sakharova , the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation , said it was shocking that the West was calling this incident shocking. She went on to say that the Internet was full of "examples of violent abductions, forced landings and illegal arrests" by "the guardians of order and morality in the West". She called the forced landing of Evo Morales in 2013 in Austria . She did not explain why the alleged wrongdoings of others were a justification for similar acts on the part of Belarus. Russia is a close ally of the authoritarian Lukashenka regime.

Aviation reactions

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expressed concern about the “apparently forced landing” which “could constitute a violation of the Chicago Convention ”.

Ryanair condemned the actions of Belarus as "unlawful" and an "act of air piracy" and stopped all flight movements over Belarus.

consequences

Blocking and avoidance of Belarusian airspace

As a result of the incident, the Lithuanian government announced on May 24, 2021 that aircraft flying over Belarus would no longer be allowed to take off and land in Lithuania at 3 a.m. local time the following day. This was the first EU member state to block Belarusian airspace.

The Latvian airline Air Baltic announced that it would avoid Belarusian airspace until further notice. Various other European airlines such as Lufthansa , LOT and Wizz Air followed suit the day after the hijacking.

The British civil aviation authority CAA has advised airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace. The European Council agreed on the same day that the EU Member States would also issue such requests to airlines.

Russia then banned flight route changes and refused, among other things. Aircraft of Air France and Austrian Airlines with the aim of Moscow to the admission Russian airspace because they had avoided the Belarusian airspace.

Sanctions against Belarus

On May 24, 2021, the British government withdrew their operating licenses from all Belarusian airlines . The EU followed this approach after the deliberations of the European Council. Airlines are also to be banned from overflights in the airspace of EU member states. The state-owned Belarusian Belavia , which offered regular scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and the European Union, is particularly affected by these flight bans . to London three times a week.

In addition, the European Union has announced economic sanctions against Belarus. The European Council instructed the EU's foreign policy representative, Josep Borrell , to come up with proposals for economic sanctions. The EU foreign ministers will then discuss this at an informal meeting in Lisbon on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 . Investments totaling around three billion euros were halted. The list of people who are banned from entering the EU and whose assets are blocked is to be expanded.

Other consequences

Flag of Belarus in the period 1917–1919 and 1991–1995

In response to the incident on the Ryanair flight, Latvia, as the host of the men's ice hockey world championship in 2021 , swapped the red and green flag of Belarus for the white, red and white flag used by the Belarusian opposition. Belarus then expelled all Latvian diplomats from the country. As a backlash, Latvia expelled all Belarusian diplomats from the country.

As a result of the events, the Association of German Cyclists canceled its participation in the UEC European Rail Championships in 2021 in Minsk, Belarus. The European cycling association UEC was considering moving the competition. On May 27, 2021, the UEC decided to cancel the European Championships in Minsk.

Another incident

The Airbus A319 in May 2014 at Frankfurt Airport

On the day after the hijacking, boarding of Lufthansa flight 1487 (flight number LH1487 ), an Airbus A319-112 with the German registration D-AIBD , from Minsk to Frankfurt am Main was interrupted due to an alleged renewed bomb threat. The Belarusian authorities then examined the aircraft, all 46 passengers and the five-person crew. The plane took off two hours late with all passengers and crew members.

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i The aircraft moved consistently in the time zone UTC + 3 , which was valid on May 23, 2021 in Athens and Vilnus due to Eastern European Summer Time and in Minsk due to Moscow time .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Playback of flight FR4978. In: flightradar24.com . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  2. ↑ a b EU demands clearance of the Ryanair aircraft in Minsk. In: zeit.de . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  3. ↑ a b Ryanair plane forced to land - regime critics arrested. In: spiegel.de . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  4. ↑ Andrius Sytas and Andrey Ostroukh: Belarus scrambles jet to force plane to land and arrests opponent, sparking fury. In: reuters.com . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  5. ↑ Silke Bigalke: Shortly before the border came the fighter jet. In: sueddeutsche.de . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  6. ↑ Ryanair plane landed in Vilnius - flight control center in Minsk is said to have threatened to be shot down. In: rnd.de . May 23, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  7. ↑ Scheduled flight intercepted - Belarus rejects allegations. In: t-online.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  8. ↑ a b c This is how the plane hijacking developed in Minsk - the protocol. In: watson.ch . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  9. ↑ Anton Troianovski and Ivan Nechepurenko: Belarus Forces Plane Down to Seize dissident; Europe Sees 'State Hijacking'. In: nytimes.com . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  10. ^ Forced landing in Minsk: "Outrageous and illegal". In: tagesschau.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  11. ↑ a b Simone Brunner: Nobody should feel safe. In: zeit.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  12. ↑ Belarus blogger's girlfriend also detained in Minsk. In: timesofmalta.com . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  13. ↑ Белорусские власти угрожали сбить самолет, если он не выполнит экстренную посадку в Минске - Л. In: theins.ru . Retrieved May 24, 2021 (Russian).
  14. ↑ Belarus Points to Hamas Bomb Threat in Plane Diversion, Group Rejects Claim. In: Haaretz.com . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  15. ↑ Alexander Sarovic, Christina Hebel and Giorgos Christides: Belarus urged Ryanair jet to land - even before the alleged bomb threat was received. In: spiegel.de . May 26, 2021, accessed May 27, 2021 .
  16. ↑ Белоруссия опубликовала стенограмму переговоров с пилотом Ryanair. In: rbc.ru . Retrieved May 25, 2021 (in Russian).
  17. ↑ Gabrielle Tétrault-farber and Andrew Osborn: 'They say code is red': transcript of controller telling plane to land in Minsk. In: reuters.com . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  18. ^ After emergency landing: No trace of opponents of the regime Protassevich. In: zdf.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  19. ↑ Roman Protasewitsch: Friend Sofia Sapega is in Minsk prison. In: spiegel.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  20. ↑ EU closes airspace for airlines from Belarus - further sanctions will follow. In: rp-online.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  21. ↑ EU punishes Belarus after forced landing by Ryanair plane. In: t-online.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  22. ↑ Patrick Reevell: EU imposes sanctions on Belarus over 'hijacked' Ryanair flight. In: abcnews.go.com . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  23. ↑ Patrick Mayer: Belarus regime shows Protasewitsch in video: Father sees traces of torture and points out important details. In: merkur.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  24. ↑ Belarus: Roman Protasevich appears in new video after arrest following 'state-sponsored hijacking'. In: news.sky.com . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  25. ↑ Girlfriend of Belarusian blogger 'confesses' in video, opposition cries foul. In: reuters.com . May 25, 2021, accessed May 26, 2021 .
  26. ↑ Foreign Minister Maas on the appointment of the Belarusian ambassador. In: Foreign Office . May 24, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  27. ↑ a b c Thomas Gutschker: Belarusian aircraft are no longer allowed to use EU airports. In: faz.net . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  28. ↑ a b Ursula von der Leyen: Introductory remarks by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel following the special meeting of the European Council on May 24, 2021. In: European Commission . Retrieved May 25, 2021 .
  29. ↑ Tony Connelly: Forced Ryanair landing state-sponsored 'aviation piracy' - Coveney. In: rte.ie . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  30. ↑ Merkel calls the video of the Belarusian opposition "shocking". In: zeit.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 28, 2021 .
  31. ↑ Russia "shocked" by criticism of Lukashenko. In: n-tv.de . Retrieved May 25, 2021 .
  32. ↑ Belarus diverts Ryanair flight to arrest journalist, says opposition. In: bbc.com . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  33. ↑ Belarus diverts Ryanair plan to arrest activist journalist. In: dw.com . May 23, 2021, accessed May 23, 2021 .
  34. ↑ Ryanair Press Office: Our updated statement regarding yesterday's (23 May) diversion of FR4978. Retrieved May 26, 2021 .
  35. ↑ Lithuania bars airport access to carriers flying over Belarus. In: lrt.lt . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  36. ↑ Belarus: EU and NATO call for an immediate investigation into the Ryanair incident. In: spiegel.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  37. ↑ Lufthansa is avoiding Belarus airspace until further notice. In: t-online.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  38. ↑ a b Emily Derrick: Breaking: The UK CAA Suspends Belarus Flag Carrier Belavia. In: simpleflying.com. May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  39. ↑ Patrick Wintour: UK planes told to cease flying over Belarus after blogger arrest. In: theguardian.com . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  40. ↑ a b c Mary O'Connor: UK airlines told to avoid Belarusian airspace after journalist arrest. In: bbc.com . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  41. ↑ Mary Ilyushina: Russia blocks flights as West's standoff with Belarus over diverted plane hits international air travel. In: cbsnews.com . May 27, 2021, accessed May 27, 2021 .
  42. ↑ "An attack on European sovereignty". In: zeit.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  43. ↑ Belarus and Latvia show each other embassy staff in the flag dispute. In: spiegel.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  44. ↑ BDR renounces the track cycling championships in Minsk. In: rad-net.de . May 25, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  45. ↑ UEC Management Board Decisions on 27 May 2021. In: uec.ch . May 27, 2021, accessed May 27, 2021 .
  46. ↑ Search for security notice: Belarus stops boarding Lufthansa aircraft in Minsk. In: tagesspiegel.de . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .
  47. ↑ Playback of flight LH1487. In: flightradar24.com . May 24, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 .