The Ryanair-Minsk Scandal: ATC Audio Details Beginning of Proceedings

The Image Above: RadarBox Data showing FR4978 diverting into Minsk on May 23. 

FR4978 was a scheduled flight between Athens and Vilnius. As the entire world knows at the moment, May 23 saw the Belarussian Government force the aircraft to divert following a false bomb threat.

The real reason was so then the government could detain opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, who had been out of the country for a significant period of time.

Over the course of this week, the air traffic control audio has been released to the public, detailing the conversations between air traffic controllers in Belarus and the pilots onboard FR4978.

You can see the following feed below:

ATC: Minsk
Pilot: Yes, go ahead.
ATC: For your information, we have information from special services that you have a bomb on board and it can be activated over Vilnius.
Pilot: Standby.
Pilot: Ok, could you repeat the message?
ATC: I say again, we have information from special services that you have a bomb on board. That bomb can be activated over Vilnius.
Pilot: Roger that, standby.
ATC: For security reasons we recommend you to land at UMMS. (ICAO code for Minsk airport)
Pilot: Ok…that..it..understood give us an alternate, please.
Pilot: The bomb….direct message, where did it come from? Where did you have information about it from?
ATC: Standby, please.
Pilot: Go ahead.
ATC: Airport security staff informed them they received the e-mail.
Pilot: Roger, Vilnius airport security staff or from Greece?
ATC: This e-mail was shared with several airports.
Pilot: Roger, standby.
Pilot: Again, this recommendation to divert to Minsk where did it come from? Where did it come from? Company? Did it come from departure airport authorities or arrival airport authorities?
ATC: This is our recommendation.
Pilot: Can you say again?
ATC: This is our recommendation.
Pilot: Did you say that is your recommendation?
ATC: Advise your decision, please.
Pilot: I need to answer the question: what is the code of the (unreadable - presumably threat level) green, yellow or amber, red.
ATC: Standby.
ATC: They say the code is Red.
Pilot: Roger that, in that case, we request holding at present position.
ATC: Roger, hold over your position, maintain FL390 turns at your own discretion.
Pilot: Ok holding at our discretion at present position maintaining FL390.
Pilot: We are declaring an emergency on MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY RYR 1TZ. Our intention would be to divert to Minsk airport.

From there, the rest is relative and brand new history in the aftermath of tensions within Belarus. 

Whilst Protasevich was arrested upon arrival at Minsk Airport, President Lukashenko's officials insisted that the bomb threat came from Hamas, with the terrorist group being unhappy about the association labeling it as "outrageous" and the product of "archaic thinking".

Overall, it is definitely clear that flights either overflying or flying into Belarus will be very numbered due to the political consequences and impacts that this has served.