 SP-RSM, the aircraft involved, in January 2021 | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 May 2021 |
| Summary | Forced landing and arrest of two passengers |
| Site | Minsk National Airport |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-8AS |
| Operator | Buzz on behalf of Ryanair |
| IATA flight No. | FR4978 |
| ICAO flight No. | RYR1TZ |
| Call sign | RYANAIR 1 TANGO ZULU |
| Registration | SP-RSM |
| Flight origin | Athens International Airport |
| Destination | Vilnius Airport |
| Occupants | 132 |
| Passengers | 126 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 132 |
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 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.