On 3 April 2022, Belarusian authorities lifted the rigid restrictions on border crossings in force since late 2020. Just as Minsk had taken its own approach in handling Covid-19, it had also developed a unique travel restriction system. Instead.
The aircraft was welcomed by Venezuelan Ambassador to Belarus Franklin Ramirez Araque and Director General of Minsk National Airport Vyacheslav Khoroneko.
Artyom Sikorsky said: “It is necessary to note that the report contains distinct statements saying that Belarus did not intercept the aircraft, did not force it land, and did not take actions to change the aircraft's course.”
Catherine McQueen/Getty Images(NEW YORK) Belarus fabricated a bomb scare aboard a Ryanair passenger plane last year to force it to land so it could arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, federal prosecutors in New York said Thursday as they charged four Belarusian officials with conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy. Ryanair flight 4978, carrying 126 passengers, including four Americans, was headed to Vilnius from Athens on May 23. When it flew over Belarusian airspace, controllers told the pilots they had received word of a bomb aboard, according to prosecutors. A MiG-29 was sent to escort the plane to Minsk National Airport. The episode prompted international outrage and Ryanair accused Belarus of state-sponsored hijacking. At the time, Julie Fisher, the U.S. ambassador to Belarus who is based in Vilnius, said the diversion of the flight was "dangerous and abhorrent," saying it showed Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's contempt for the international co
(NEW YORK) — Belarus fabricated a bomb scare aboard a Ryanair passenger plane last year to force it to land so it could arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, federal prosecutors in New York said Thursday as they charged four Belarusian officials with conspiracy to commit […]