DISINFO: Ryanair flight landed in Belarus because other airports declined to accept it
SUMMARY
Belarus was informed by Switzerland that there was a bomb on Ryanair flight FR 4978 and then it decided to ground it. Additionally, Minsk accepted the plane only because other airports in cities such as Vilnius and Warsaw did not accept it although they were nearer.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative about a forced diversion and landing of Ryanair flight FR 4978 in Belarus. Several different disinformation narratives appear in the pro-Kremlin ecosystem which seems to create a smokescreen of confusion.
On Sunday, May 23, 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about the bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forcfully diverted by a Belarusian military aircraft to land in Minsk. Roman Protasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers. Speaking on Wednesday, 26 May, Alyaksandr Lukashenka defended his country’s arrest of dissident blogger Raman Pratasevich, which opposition leaders and Western governments said was the real reason for the forced landing, as the country’s “sovereign right”.
He claimed Minsk air traffic control had passed on a warning of a bomb threat it received from Switzerland. Belarusian officials previously said the threat came from Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has denied any involvement, via the Switzerland-based encrypted email service ProtonMail. ProtonMail told the Financial Times: “We haven’t seen credible evidence that the claims are true, but there is plenty of evidence to support the contrary.” A Swiss official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denied the allegations.
Lukashenka said Athens and Vilnius airports had also received the bomb threat and refused to let the plane land in Vilnius. But Greece disputed that account. A foreign ministry spokesperson said the country “sticks to the statement made last Sunday, describing the incident as a state-sponsored hijacking”. Also, Greece's Civil Aviation Agency issued a statement denying Lukashenka's claims.
Read similar disinfo cases alleging that forcing down aircraft is common practice among special forces, that the Ryanair case is similar with the forced landing of Evo Morales' plane in 2013, or that since Europe refused to hand over Pratasevich, Lukashenko had to redirect the plane.