The International Civil Aviation Organization concluded that the information about the presence of a bomb on board the plane that made an emergency landing in Minsk was deliberately false and was passed on to the flight crew at the direction of the Belarusian authorities.
The ICAO report stated that “The ICAO Council acknowledged that the report of the bomb planted on Ryanair flight FR4978 was false and threatened its safety, and that the flight crew was made aware of the threat at the direction of senior government officials. Belarus”.
The report notes that “neither the bomb nor evidence of its presence were found either during the inspection before the plane took off from Athens, or later during numerous searches of the plane in Belarus and Lithuania.” At the same time, the International Civil Aviation Organization concluded that the bomb threat was “clearly false”, threatening the safety of the aircraft.
A Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing at Minsk Airport on May 23, 2021 due to a report of a bomb on board that was later not confirmed. On board was Roman Protasevich, the founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, recognized as extremist in Belarus. When checking documents, he was arrested and a criminal case was initiated under several articles, including the article “Organization of mass riots.”
After the accident, European countries said that the Belarusian authorities forced the plane to land under a far-fetched pretext. In Minsk, this was rejected, citing the fact that they only recommended landing, and the pilot made the decision. After the accident, some airlines began to overtake the airspace of Belarus. The European Union has banned the use of aircraft of Belarusian air carriers in its airspace and airports.
Source: RIA Novosti