84-670: Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport , Greece , to Vilnius Airport , Lithuania , operated by Buzz , a Polish subsidiary of the Irish airline Ryanair . On 23 May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace , it was diverted by the Belarusian government to Minsk National Airport due to alleged claims of a Hamas bombing attempt, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega , were arrested by authorities. The aircraft
168-760: A Boeing 767-300ER of defunct Greek start-up carrier SkyGreece Airlines . However, as of June 2017, the parking space of the satellite terminal is in full use for both Schengen and non-Schengen area flights and to accommodate increased traffic. From June 2017 some low-cost carriers were using it. On 24 May 2018, the Satellite Terminal officially restarted full operations. The airlines using it are Ryanair , Easyjet , Vueling , Eurowings , Norwegian , Transavia and Transavia France , TUIfly Belgium , Brussels Airlines , Aer Lingus , Air Transat and Scoot . The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Athens Airport: Athens International Airport
252-470: A "bloody rebellion", without giving details. Lukashenko added that the bomb threat had come from Switzerland; however, the Swiss government said it had no knowledge of any bomb threat on the flight. 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
336-535: A British Airways cargo flight, were allowed to land in Russia using new routes. On 28 May 2021, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that "the problems were purely technical in nature, and that the issue should not become an additional irritant in Russia's relations with the European Union". On 1 June, Lufthansa was forced to cancel flights to Moscow because authorisations were not received on time, prompting
420-527: A British parliamentary committee to answer questions about the incident. He called the event a "premeditated breach of global aviation rules". 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
504-485: A Russian citizen, was also removed and detained without explanation. The European Humanities University in Vilnius confirmed she was detained and demanded her release. Sapega faced three criminal charges "each of which carry sentences of between three and 15 years in prison" and was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison for "inciting social enmity and discord" and "illegally collecting and disseminating information about
588-524: A building expansion with a total area of approximately 14,950 square meters over five levels (levels 0 to 4). The construction company to build the expansion was awarded in summer 2018, and the project was scheduled to be completed by mid-2019. It was to add 18 more counter check-in decks as well as additional space for arrivals, departures, security and an automated control gate. It also planned to add an expanded shopping area and new lounges by mid-2020. The satellite terminal has two levels, one for arrivals and
672-620: A fresh round of sanctions. On 26 May 2021, the European Union and the EU Aviation Safety Agency issued directives formally halting European airlines from flying over Belarusian airspace. The U.S. and the EU announced plans to impose punitive sanctions targeting key members of Lukashenko's government. In early June, Germany briefly stopped issuing flight permits to airlines from Russia for flights to Germany, after two Lufthansa flights were not issued permits to fly into Russia. On 4 June 2021,
756-399: A new airport had been carried out from as early as the 1970s, with as many as 19 different locations being looked at before an area close to the town of Spata was chosen as suitable. Athens Airport SA , a state-owned company, was established in 1978 to proceed with the plans. However, after delays and slow development, the project was revived in 1991, approximately 1 year after the city lost
840-949: A new base in the Athens Airport and added eight destinations. The airport company recorded an increase in passenger traffic in excess of 21% during 2014, reaching 15.1 million passengers, resulted both by new destinations but also by increased capacity offered on established ones. Characteristically, Singapore and Gulf Air resumed flights while Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways fly more frequently to/from Athens. Delta Air Line resumed their weekly flights and American Airlines retained their seasonal schedules to/from USA with even more frequent connectivity. From 2017 onwards, year-round services to Singapore were scheduled to resume after more than five years, with flights operated by Scoot . According to AIA published statistics, total traffic for 2015 achieved an impressive performance reaching almost 18.1 million passengers, an all-time-record for
924-614: A satisfactory rationale to explain why records [of the Belarusian authorities] had not been preserved". Access to the controller of the Ryanair flight or to the call records of officials, as well as footage from well-placed airport cameras were also not provided to the investigation team. As Russian aviation authorities did not approve some new routes avoiding Belarus, Air France and Austrian Airlines had to cancel flights from Paris to Moscow on 26 May and from Vienna to Moscow on 27 May, while several other European carriers, including KLM and
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#17330850052461008-473: A six-phase framework. The first (and current) phase allowed the airport to accommodate 26 million passengers per year. When the airport originally opened, the current phase called for a capacity of only 16 million passengers per year; however, the capacity was able to increase without progressing to the next phase thanks to advanced IT logistics. The sixth and final expansion phase will allow the airport to accommodate an annual traffic of 50 million passengers, with
1092-528: A violation of international law , including the Convention on International Civil Aviation ; and an infringement of basic human rights by an authoritarian regime. 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". The International Civil Aviation Organization voiced its deep concern over "the apparent forced landing" of
1176-640: Is accessible by the Attiki Odos toll highway from the centre and northern Athens, Varis-Koropiou Avenue from the western part, Laurio Ave. from the South, and Spata-Loutsa Avenue from the East. A variety of parking options are available on site at the airport in three different parking lots . Located at the arrivals level, opposite the airport terminal, the airport offers short-term parking for up to five hours with 1,357 parking spaces available in lots P1 and P2. Long-term parking
1260-597: Is in Minsk . Some observers called BelTA a propaganda outlet. The BelTA Director-General Dzmitry Zhuk was banned from entering the European Union between 2011 and 2016 as part of the EU's sanctions against Belarus following what the EU describes as a crackdown of opposition protests after the 2010 presidential election . According to the EU Council 's decision concerning restrictive measures against Belarus following
1344-496: Is located across the airport's main access road (Attiki Odos) with 5,802 parking spaces in lot P3. A free shuttle bus is available to transport passengers, while the lots are also accessible by foot to the terminal. Premium valet service is also offered at the Departures level by Entrance 3. Taxis are available at the designated taxi waiting area located at exit 3 of the arrivals level. Taxis from Athens International Airport to
1428-540: Is the 18th-busiest airport in Europe and the second busiest and second largest in the Balkans, after Istanbul Airport . The new Athens International Airport covers an expanse of 16,000 acres (25.0 sq mi; 64.7 km ), making the facility among the largest in Europe and in the world in terms of land area. AIA is located between the towns of Markopoulo , Koropi , Spata and Loutsa , about 20 km (12 mi) to
1512-521: Is the largest international airport in Greece , serving the city of Athens and region of Attica . It began operation on 28 March 2001 (in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics ) and is the main base of Aegean Airlines , as well as other smaller Greek airlines. It replaced the old Ellinikon International Airport . Athens International Airport is currently a member of Group 1 of Airports Council International (over 25 million passengers). As of 2023 , it
1596-527: Is the largest and busiest airport in Greece. By the end of 2023, it was the 18th-busiest airport in Europe . The table below shows passenger totals at Athens International Airport by country destination during 2023, and changes compared to 2022. A railway station is immediately adjacent to the airport terminal, accessible by an elevated walkway. Athens Metro line 3 and the suburban railway service Proastiakos run trains to and from this station. The airport
1680-690: Is the state-owned national news agency of the Republic of Belarus . It operates in Russian , Belarusian , English , German , Spanish , Polish and Chinese languages. Since 2018, the director of BELTA is Irina Akulovich. The agency was founded on December 23, 1918. During the Soviet times BelTA cooperated with the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), although it was legally independent of it. After
1764-527: The Chicago Convention provides that a state has "complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory", so an airplane in a state's airspace can be intercepted and ordered to land, provided the interception process in Annex ;2 Appendix 2 is followed and it complies with the safety requirements of Article 3bis. However, in this case the diversion airport was more distant than
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#17330850052461848-524: The Civil Aviation Authority to request that British airlines avoid Belarusian airspace. Belavia had been flying into Gatwick Airport prior to the incident. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the government to halt air traffic with Belarus. The EU held a meeting of leaders on 24 May 2021 in Brussels , Belgium. Before the meeting, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called for
1932-632: The European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration for take-offs and landings of the biggest passenger jet worldwide, the A380 . The first ever A380 to visit 'Eleftherios Venizelos' Athens International Airport made an emergency landing on 13 April 2011 for emergency medical reasons. The first scheduled A380 flight took place on 26 October 2012 by Emirates . The Greek government-debt crisis reduced
2016-516: The Eurovision Song Contest and other events sanctioned by the EBU. Belarus had already been disqualified from the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest , as its chosen song and the suggested replacement broke rules on political statements in songs selected for the competition. BTRC was then expelled from the EBU on 1 July 2021. In December 2021, air traffic controller Oleg Galegov, who was present in
2100-500: The International Civil Aviation Organization showed that such an email had been sent to Minsk Airport at 09:56 (12:56 local). This message was sent to a total of six recipients in separate emails to the airports of Vilnius, Athens, Sofia, Bucharest, Kyiv and Minsk, with the first five sent while FR4978 was flying over Ukrainian airspace, immediately prior to entering Belarusian airspace. According to
2184-447: The USSR ceased to exist in 1991 , BelTA has been the national news agency of Belarus. It transmits over a hundred daily reports, and provides information to other news agencies of Commonwealth of Independent States members about the activities of Belarusian officials and organizations in and out of the country. BelTA has offices in all regions of Belarus , as well as abroad. The main office
2268-434: The "volume of data submitted and additional state clarifications still being required". On 17 January 2022, ICAO published the fact-finding report for discussion at an ICAO Council meeting on 31 January. The report concluding that the bomb threat was "deliberately false", but could not "attribute the commission of this act of unlawful interference to any individual or State". ICAO laid out that its team "was not provided with
2352-816: The Belarusian potash industry, and goods used for the production of tobacco products. Following the EU sanctions, Belarus was accused by the EU states of instigating the Belarus–European Union border crisis . In early November 2021, the head of the Department of Aviation at the Belarusian Ministry of Transport and Communications Artem Sikorsky said that the EU sanctions cost the country about $ 10 million (~$ 11.1 million in 2023) in lost opportunities every month. Sikorsky called on Russia and other Eurasian Union members to respond collectively to "aviation extremism" from Western countries and to accelerate
2436-401: 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
2520-736: The European Union banned Belarusian airlines from its airspace along with other economic sanctions. On 9 June 2021, the United States government announced it would implement new sanctions on Belarus. The United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada issued a joint statement on 21 June 2021 announcing further sanctions against members and supporters of the Belarusian government, as well as Belarusian state-owned companies . These included individual travel bans, asset freezes and other sanctions. Further measures taken were EU dual-use goods and technology export bans to Belarus, as well as trade bans on petroleum products, potassium chloride for
2604-550: The Gaza Strip. We demand that the European Union abandon its support for Israel in this war. We know that the participants of Delphi Economic Forum are returning home on May 23 via flight FR4978. A bomb was planted onto this aircraft. If you don't meet our demands the bomb will explode on May 23 over Vilnius. Allahu Akbar." The information later obtained from the email server by the Fact-Finding Investigation Team of
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2688-585: The General Court of the EU on 15 February 2023. On 27 May 2021, the ICAO Council expressed strong concern about the apparent forced diversion and requested the ICAO Secretariat to undertake a fact-finding investigation under Article 55 of the Chicago Convention for a future session of the council. In November 2021, ICAO announced that the investigation report had been delayed until January 2022, due to
2772-700: The German government to retaliate by denying Russian airlines access to its airspace. On 23 May 2021, the Lithuanian public prosecutor's office opened a 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, the Prosecutor General of Poland ordered
2856-593: The Hellenic Republic (Greek State) and Private Sector in a 55%-45% stake following a PPP scheme for the airport company. Currently, private investors include the Copelouzos Group (5%) and PSP Investments of Canada (40%), following purchase of Hochtief 's shares. The airport was constructed to replace the now-closed Athens (Ellinikon) International Airport , as the latter had reached its saturation point with no physical space for further growth. Studies for
2940-555: The Main Terminal and it has three separate levels, one for arrivals, one for departures and a food court level complete with a view of the eastern runway. Finally, the terminal is equipped with fourteen jet bridges and eleven belt conveyors for luggage. In March 2018, the Athens International Airport issued a tender for its first physical expansion, concerning the south wings of the main terminal. The tender called for
3024-543: The Southern terminal of Line 2 . Buses disembark passengers at the departures level and depart from the arrivals level between exits 4 and 5. Regional bus services by KTEL Express operate to the airport, currently connecting the airport to Rafina , Markopoulo , Lavrio , Kalyvia and Keratea . Belarusian Telegraph Agency The Belarusian Telegraph Agency or BelTA ( Belarusian : Беларускае Тэлеграфнае Агенцтва , Russian: Белорусское Телеграфное Агентство , БелТА)
3108-503: 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. Upon landing in Minsk, the 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 ,
3192-452: 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 (ATC) immediately afterwards. At 12:33, air traffic control mentioned an e-mail from terrorists sent to the Minsk airport. According to Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary ,
3276-441: The airport at that time, increased by 19% on year-over-year basis and by 1.55 million (+9.4%) the previous best, which was the pre-crisis year 2007. In addition, over the same period, aircraft traffic exhibited a solid growth of 14% year-over-year. Moreover, in 2015 a significant rise (+38%) was recorded by transfer passengers, with the international to international transfer traffic marking an impressive increase (+60%) demonstrating
3360-475: The airport handled just above 12.5 million passengers, 3.2% fewer than in 2012 and lower by approximately 25% when compared to 2007's traffic, which was the all-time-high at that time. 2014 signaled a strong recovery for the airport's passenger traffic and all statistical figures. More than ten new airlines started new flights to and from Athens. Aegean Airlines strengthened its network by 30% (with many more destinations scheduled for 2015) while Ryanair established
3444-474: The airport showing traffic increase of 8.6% to a total of 21.7 million passengers, yet another all-time record for the Athens airport. During 2018, the airport achieved yet another record high, reporting increased passenger traffic by 11% to more than 24.1 million passengers. Equally, aircraft traffic achieved a new record with a reported annual growth of 10.8% to 217,094 movements. For the first ten months of 2023,
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3528-536: The airport traffic shows signs of further increase with passenger numbers up by 19.5% to 24.4 million passengers and aircraft movements up by 15.2%. By the end of 2023, Athens saw about 28.17 million international and domestic passengers. This is a 10.2% increase from 2019. In the second half of June 2018 Emirates added an extra daily flight from its base in Dubai Airport using the Airbus A380 superjumbo, marking
3612-562: The belly of the aircraft for bombs. 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 e-mail letter, which they said
3696-614: The bloc in support of Protasevich in order to send "a strong message to [the] Belarus regime". The 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. On 28 May 2021, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that it would be suspending
3780-522: The city center have a flat rate of 40€ during the day (05:00-23:59) and 55€ at night (00:00-04:59). Limousine service is also available upon request by the inner curbside of the arrivals level between exits 3 and 4. Four bus lines (X93, X95, X96, X97) connect directly to the Athens greater area, X95 starts from Syntagma square, X93 connects the airport to intercity bus stations ( KTEL Kifissos Bus Terminal and Liosion bus terminal ), X96 to Athens main port Piraeus and X97 to Elliniko metro station
3864-453: The creation of a unified aviation administration of all Eurasian countries. During the same press conference he recalled the intention to challenge the EU sanctions in international courts. Belaeronavigatsia , the Belarusian state-owned enterprise responsible for regulating airspace and providing air traffic control in Belarus, was sanctioned by the EU. It lost its case against those sanctions in
3948-438: The current layout leaving enough space for five more terminals to be added. As such, the parallel runway system currently in place has been designed to accommodate flight traffic with this high equivalent annual passenger load upon completion of the final expansion phase. The main terminal building handles all intra- Schengen flights, as well as several non-Schengen flights. All of the airport's 144 check-in desks are located in
4032-559: The destination airport, so could potentially endanger safety, which would be contrary to Article 3bis. He noted that if a fake bomb threat had been made, a crime would have been committed under Article 1 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation and Belarus should "facilitate the continuation of the journey of the passengers and crew". Ukrainian aviation lawyer Andriy Huk suggested that
4116-508: 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
4200-467: The east of central Athens (30 km (19 mi) by road, due to intervening hills). The airport is named after Elefthérios Venizélos , the prominent Cretan political figure and Prime Minister of Greece, who made a significant contribution to the development of Greek aviation and the Hellenic Air Force in the 1930s. As to-date, the airport is operated by AIA S.A. and ownership is divided between
4284-511: The event was a "state-sponsored hijacking" and that Ryanair believes that "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
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#17330850052464368-470: The first time the "superjumbo" operated at the airport with a scheduled flight for a long period of time. The A380 service was continued until the end of August 2018. The airport currently has two terminals, the main terminal and the satellite terminal accessible by an underground link from the main terminal. It is designed to be extended in a modular approach over the ensuing years in order to accommodate increases in air travel. These extensions are planned in
4452-527: The flight and the possibility of arrest as a result of the diversion. They noted that a key factor in assessing the case would be determining the true reason the flight was intercepted and diverted. The same experts also clarify that the aircraft, crew, and passengers were in an area of Belarusian sovereignty and subject to the country's laws while flying above it according to Article 1 of the Chicago Convention. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary stated that
4536-612: The flight be re-directed to Minsk with a Belarusian Air Force MiG-29 fighter escort. However, the ICAO fact-finding task force later determined the MiG-29 was tasked with communications back-up and to protect Minsk, and did not approach nor escort FR4978. The Belarusian government news agency BelTA said that the pilots had 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 became unusual even before making
4620-435: 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". Reuters reported that Turkey "insisted that any mention of support for more Western sanctions on Belarus, and calls for
4704-403: The incident. The other two passengers also said that they wanted to disembark in Minsk. The aircraft was allowed to depart after 7 hours on the ground in Minsk, reaching Vilnius 8.5 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 a search that included checking
4788-524: The interception by the military aircraft and redirection of the airliner to a more distant airport could have jeopardized the safety of the passengers and crew. He also noted that Annex 2 Appendix 2 of the 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
4872-433: The legality of the events and raised two possible ways that aircraft safety may have been jeopardized. The first is the burden of additional work required by the crew to land safely at an unfamiliar airport, which was further complicated by warnings of an on-board bomb and the presence of a military escort. The second is passengers reacting to news of a diversion, in particular, passengers who were aware of security personnel on
4956-468: The membership of Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC), citing that they were "particularly alarmed by the broadcast of interviews apparently obtained under duress". BTRC was given two weeks to respond before the suspension came into effect. As a result, this prevents BTRC, and therefore, Belarus, from participating in or broadcasting events such as
5040-495: The opening of an investigation into the case. On 14 June, Protasevich appeared at a press conference, in which Chief of the Belarus Air Force Igor Golub claimed that there was "no interception, no forced diversion from the state border or forced landing of the Ryanair plane". A BBC journalist present at the conference stated that Protasevich was clearly there under duress. Since there were four Americans on board
5124-491: The other for departures. It is easily accessible through an underground link complete with moving walkways. The terminal is equipped with ten jet bridges and is capable of handling annual traffic of six million passengers. In recent years its parking stands were utilized for long-term storage of airliners, specifically two ex- Olympic Airways Airbus A340-300s (both aircraft were transferred to its new owner in February 2017) and
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#17330850052465208-410: The overall passenger traffic of the airport for six consecutive years. Many long-haul airlines outright terminated service to the airport, while others chose to operate on a seasonal basis only, opting to terminate service during the winter months. Moreover, these problems were further exacerbated by the closure of Olympic Airlines , which operated many long-haul flights to and from the airport. In 2013,
5292-506: The passenger plane if it did not make an emergency landing in Minsk. 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 15 years' imprisonment for his support of "terrorist groups" in Belarus. According to sources close to Tsikhanouskaya, Protasevich noticed that he
5376-517: The passengers were members of the Belarusian KGB , Belarusian state television aired a video of three people saying that they had chosen to stay in Minsk; one was a Greek man, who said he was travelling to Minsk anyway and would have otherwise taken a connecting flight from Vilnius to Minsk. A Greek government official stated that an investigation had not indicated a connection between the Greek national and
5460-472: The pilot asked whose recommendation it had been to land in Minsk, he was informed by the flight operator that it was "our recommendations". The transcript indicated that the pilot initially decided to circle at his present position, then later decided to divert to Minsk airport on the recommendation. As of 25 May 2021, this transcript could not be confirmed by independent parties. According to The Wall Street Journal , Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary rejected
5544-441: The pilots were told by Belarusian ATC that there was a bomb on board which would be detonated if the aircraft entered Lithuanian airspace, hence the need to divert to Minsk. O'Leary said that the pilots tried to seek advice from Ryanair but were lied to by Belarusian ATC, who told them company representatives were not answering the phone. According to his press service, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered that
5628-599: The plane, the FBI investigated the incident, and on 20 January 2022, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged four Belarusian officials with conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy. The officials charged have not been arrested. The act was denounced by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, NATO, and some civil aviation authorities as an act of air piracy and state terrorism ;
5712-459: The private life of an unnamed person without his consent". 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 . Opposition leader Pavel Latushko claimed that Belarusian ATC threatened to shoot down
5796-464: The release of political prisoners there, would be left out" of the text published on the NATO website. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated that he was "deeply concerned" over the apparent forced landing and subsequent detention of Roman Protasevich and asked for a full investigation into the incident. British professor of international law Marco Roscini stated that Article 1 of
5880-482: The right to host the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta, USA and the possibility of submitting a bid for the 2000 Game was discussed. However, the city presented the project that was eventually the winner for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games , with the then government launching an international tender for the selection of a build-own-operate-transfer partner for the airport project, with Hochtief of Germany being selected. In 1996, Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA)
5964-406: The significant enhancement of the Athens airport connectivity. 2016 was a landmark year for the Athens International Airport, both for domestic and international destinations. Annual results reflected a solid performance for a third year in a row fueled by double-digit growth, this time passing the twenty million mark, increased by 10.7% on year-over-year basis. Healthy growth continued in 2017 with
6048-663: 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 and Kyiv would be rerouted to avoid Belarusian airspace. Lufthansa announced that 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. On 15 June, O'Leary appeared before
6132-431: The staging 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". Using the same two treaties as a basis, aviation lawyers with the international firm DLA Piper questioned
6216-631: The tower during the interception, defected to Poland. In his statement, he confirmed that KGB officers were present in the tower during the operation, and took control in the moment of communicating the bomb threat to the pilots. In July 2022, the International Civil Aviation Organization completed a review that condemned the "actions of the Government of Belarus in committing an act of unlawful interference". Athens International Airport Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos ( IATA : ATH , ICAO : LGAV ), commonly initialised as AIA ,
6300-429: The transcript, the Belarusian flight operator originally told the pilots that they "have information from special services" about the bomb on board, later claiming that the "airport security stuff [ sic ] informed they received e-mail". When the pilot asked whether it was Vilnius airport that received the e-mail, or Athens, the flight operator said that the bombing alert was received by "several airports". When
6384-464: The version of events made by 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 that 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
6468-478: Was a bomb on board the aircraft. Lina Beišinė, spokeswoman for the Lithuanian Airports state enterprise, told AFP that Minsk National Airport had said the flight was diverted "due to a conflict between a member of the crew and the passengers". In addition to Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega, three passengers disembarked in Minsk, including two Belarusians and one Greek citizen. Following speculation that
6552-689: 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 in November 2019, it was transferred to Ryanair Sun (now Buzz ) as SP-RSM on the Polish aircraft registry. On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978 (Athens–Vilnius), operated by the Polish subsidiary Buzz, a Boeing 737-800 carrying six crew members and 126 passengers,
6636-593: Was allowed to depart after seven hours, reaching Vilnius eight and a half hours behind schedule. The act was condemned by the European Union (EU), NATO , the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others, and by some civil aviation authorities, while Russian officials backed Belarus. The EU and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued directives halting European airlines from flying over Belarusian airspace. The aircraft involved
6720-517: 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. The Department of Aviation of Belarus claimed that an email was received in the generic mailbox info@airport.by containing the following text at 09:25 UTC (12:25 local): "We, Hamas soldiers, demand that Israel cease fire in
6804-580: Was established as a Public–private partnership with a 30-year concession agreement. That same year, the €2.1 billion development finally began with an estimated completion date of February 2001. The airport construction was completed five months before schedule, but was delayed opening a month due to surface connections to Attiki Odos not being completed. The airport officially opened on 28 March 2001 Its major features include two parallel runways being 4 km (2.5 mi) and 3.8 km (2.4 mi) long respectively. The airport has received approval from
6888-541: Was in any way connected to the incident. Journalists discovered that the e-mail published by Belarusian authorities had been received at 12:57, 24 minutes after Belarusian air traffic control notified the Ryanair flight of the bomb threat. On 25 May 2021, the Belarusian Department of Aviation published its transcription of radio communications between Belarusian air traffic control and the FR4978 pilots. According to
6972-481: 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 e-mail. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel called the Belarusian explanation "completely implausible". Hamas denied that it
7056-516: Was under surveillance at the Athens airport. In his messages, he said 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, which was previously edited by Protasevich, said that officers of the KGB had been on the flight and had " initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew", insisting that there
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