ICAO report condemns Belarus for faking Ryanair FR4978 bomb threat

A report by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the diversion of a Ryanair in May 2021 flight slams Belarus for endangering the safety of the aircraft and reveals new details about the actions of an air traffic controller.

Ryanair Flight FR4978, which flew from Athens (ATN) to Vilnius (VNO) on May 23, 2021, was diverted to land in Minsk (MSK) upon the instructions of Belarusian Air Traffic Control following an alleged bomb threat. Belarusian journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega were arrested by Belarusian security service KGB following the landing.

In the report, the ICAO Council condemns the actions of the Government of Belarus, stating that they endangered the safety of the aircraft, as well as contravened the spirit of Chicago convention.

According to the report, the bomb threat, which was used as a justification to divert the flight to Minsk and subsequently detain several of its passengers, was communicated upon the instructions of Belarusian government officials and was deliberately false.