Inside the control room of Belarus’ hijacked Ryanair flight

Sometime betwixt 9:50 a.m. and 10 a.m. connected May 23, 2021, 2 men walked into the Minsk aerial postulation power center. 

They were determination to present a message: There’s a weaponry connected Ryanair flight 4978 from Athens to Vilnius, which would soon be flying through Belarusian airspace.

Except, it was a lie.

The weaponry menace prompted the pilots to travel mandatory information protocols and land the Boeing 737-800 successful Minsk. Once connected the ground, 2 of its passengers — absorption writer Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend, Sofia Sapega — were arrested.

The incidental sparked planetary outrage and saw Belarus hit with EU sanctions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it “outrageous and amerciable behavior,” while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the incidental “an unprecedented enactment of authorities terrorism” that could not spell unpunished.

The U.N. aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), responded by launching an investigation, uncovering successful January of this twelvemonth that the weaponry menace was “deliberately false.” It past extended the probe successful airy of immoderate "missing facts" and to analyse caller information.

Among that caller accusation was grounds from the Minsk-based aerial postulation controller who guided the Ryanair aviator done the diversion to the Belarusian capital, and a signaling helium made connected his telephone of his speech with the pilot.

The follow-up report, obtained by POLITICO, describes successful infinitesimal item what happened that day, implicating Belarusian officials.

In his interrogation with the U.N. agency, the controller, who remains anonymous successful the report, recalls that 2 men entered Minsk’s power halfway astir fractional an hr aft helium started his displacement connected that fateful Sunday. 

He identified 1 of them arsenic Leonid Churo, the manager wide of Belaeronavigatsia, the country’s aerial navigation work provider. The other, helium suspected, worked for Belarusian information services, inactive called the KGB.

The 2 men approached the work supervisor, who past informed the controller and different workfellow astir a Ryanair rider level that was astir to enter Belarusian airspace from Ukraine. 

The supervisor mentioned an alleged bomb menace against the flight, and that the level should beryllium diverted, but dissuaded the controller from informing Lviv control halfway successful neighboring Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a flurry of emails were being sent to European airports, from Sofia to Bucharest, Athens and Minsk. Each bore the aforesaid message, claiming to beryllium from “Hamas soldiers” and informing of a weaponry that would spell disconnected supra Vilnius if demands weren’t met. Hamas, a violent group, has denied involvement.

The play by play

The aerial postulation controller pulled retired his telephone to grounds his telephone with the Ryanair pilot, helium said, due to the fact that helium feared that accustomed aerial postulation power messages mightiness beryllium destroyed.

The signaling captures not conscionable his speech with the pilot, but the continuous input of the supervisor and suspected subordinate of Belarusian information services arsenic they coached him on what to accidental for the duration of the 39-minute speech with the plane.

The transcript, shared with POLITICO, shows that the controller practiced the connection he'd person to present to the pilots aboard Flight 4978 — a motion that what helium was saying wasn't spontaneous.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the incident “outrageous and amerciable behavior” | Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images

“We have accusation from peculiar services that you person weaponry connected board. That weaponry tin beryllium activated implicit Vilnius," helium told the Ryanair pilot.

But an speech captured by the telephone signaling underlined that what the controller was saying was stage-managed: “Say 'for information reasons,'” the supervisor told the controller earlier helium contacted the pilots.

The aviator was suspicious of what the controller told him, and asked for much information. “The weaponry ... menace message, wherever did it travel from? Where did you find the accusation astir it from?”

The suspected KGB serviceman and supervisor past fed lines to the controller. After a convoluted back-and-forth betwixt the 3 men successful the power tower, the controller was told to archer Ryanair that the menace came from the email, forwarded to the power country by the airport. The existent root of the emails is unclear. The ICAO study says the email to Minsk wasn't sent until the level had already started its descent to the airport.

The Ryanair aviator dug for much accusation astir the email, earlier asking however helium should divert the plane.

That led to yet different scramble to fig retired however to respond successful the power tower. “So archer me, what to say?” the controller asked the 2 men.

Eventually, the aviator asked: “I request to inquire you a question, what is the codification of the menace ... is it green, yellowish oregon amber oregon red”

“He’s asking, the codification of the connection is yellowish oregon red?” the controller asked the 2 men.

An unidentified antheral says: “Well, fto it beryllium red, the reddish one.”

While the Ryanair pilot weighed up his adjacent move, the transcript shows much frantic discussions successful the power halfway arsenic the level was astir to transverse the borderline retired of Belarus and participate Lithuanian aerial space.

The suspected information serviceman said: “Yes, [name withheld]. He hasn’t made a [decision] yet, determination is simply a mates of minutes earlier exiting our portion … adjacent the authorities border. Well yes, the aviator is asking what is the colour yellowish oregon red, good [the color], of the danger. The controller is saying red. Pilot is making a determination truthful acold … good ... good … good perchance they [the Ryanair crew] is playing for clip deliberately, who knows.”

But successful the extremity the aviator bought what the power operation successful Minsk was saying and declared: “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY ... our intentions would beryllium to divert to Minsk airport.”

Once connected the ground, it was wide this was nary mean diversion | AFP via Getty Images

The Ryanair formation landed astatine the Minsk airport.

What happened next

Once connected the ground, it was wide this was nary mean diversion.

Ryanair called Minsk authorities 12 times successful a two-hour model earlier and aft the level landed to effort to get much accusation astir the threat, including asking for a transcript of the email (which wasn't provided).

Eventually, the authorities allowed the unit and passengers backmost aboard their airplane to proceed the flight. But not everyone made it. Before takeoff, compartment unit conducted a headcount of passengers and recovered 5 were missing. But nary mentation was provided to the Ryanair unit by the Minsk Airport crushed staff, and the airplane took disconnected leaving those 5 passengers behind. Among them were Belarusian writer Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend.

The study doesn't place the different 3 passengers — different than to accidental that of the five, 3 were Belarusian, 1 was Russian and 1 was Greek — but Ryanair brag Michael O'Leary said successful the contiguous aftermath that helium believed agents of the Belarusian KGB were traveling connected the level and were offloaded astatine the airport.

If Belarus' authoritarian person Alexander Lukashenko thought the satellite would rapidly hide the incident, helium was incorrect — it cemented his regime's outlaw status.

After stolen elections successful 2020, erstwhile Lukashenko cheated his mode backmost into power, helium faced planetary sanctions and isolation. The Ryanair incident, characterized arsenic a hijacking by EU officials, forced yet much measures against Belarus. State bearer Belavia was banned from European airspace and U.S. prosecutors charged 4 Belarusian authorities officials with craft piracy.

As portion of the probes, ICAO didn't get overmuch assistance from Belarusian authorities.

Very small footage was fixed to investigators of the passengers getting disconnected the flight, oregon successful the airport. Belarusian authorities said that’s due to the fact that the video archive is lone stored for 30 days.

But video recordings made by passengers amusement a antheral contiguous connected the ramp portion passengers disembarked. The aerial postulation controller identified him arsenic the suspected KGB officer.

What accusation the planetary investigators received was besides dubious.

If Belarus' authoritarian person Alexander Lukashenko thought the satellite would rapidly hide the incident, helium was incorrect | Pool photograph by Pavel Orlovskiy/EPA

A 2nd transcript, included wrong the ICAO study obtained by POLITICO, captured a speech betwixt the lawman wide manager of Belaeronavigatsia, the work supervisor and the controller, a week aft the forced landing. Within it, the authority's lawman main encourages the brace to marque immoderate "adjustments" successful their incidental reports.

ICAO yet recovered that Belarus' diversion was "an enactment of unlawful interference," was deliberately mendacious and endangered the information of the Ryanair flight.

Belarusian officials dismissed the report, saying it "does not basal up to scrutiny." Officials from Belarus and Russia — an state of Minsk — besides expressed doubts that the relationship shared by the aerial postulation controller is genuine.

The study has been passed connected to the U.N. for consideration. Several countries, including the United States, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus person opened their ain investigations.

Protasevich was placed nether location apprehension awaiting trial. His existent concern is unclear. In January, helium uncharacteristically spoke to pro-government media, saying that helium was nary longer nether location arrest.

Sapega, who was sentenced to six years successful prison, asked for a pardon in a letter in precocious June, calling connected Lukashenko for leniency.