London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

"You Have Bomb On Board," Belarus Told Pilot Of Diverted Ryanair Plane

"You Have Bomb On Board," Belarus Told Pilot Of Diverted Ryanair Plane

The forced grounding of the European passenger flight Sunday sparked a global outcry with EU-based carriers cutting air links with Belarus and European leaders warning of fresh sanctions.
Belarus air traffic control told a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight there was a bomb on board and suggested it divert to Minsk, according to a transcript released by the transport ministry Tuesday.

The forced grounding of the European passenger flight Sunday sparked a global outcry with EU-based carriers cutting air links with Belarus and European leaders warning of fresh sanctions.

The aviation department of the Belarus transport ministry released a transcript of what it says was the conversation between Minsk airport and the Ryanair pilot.

"We have information from special services that you have bomb on board and it can be activated over Vilnius," Minsk air traffic control said, recommending that the aircraft make a landing.

The pilot then questioned the origin of the bomb threat, to which Minsk said airport security had received it via email.

Belarus several times suggested that the plane land in Minsk saying it was "our recommendation".

On Monday however Belarus authorities said that the decision to land in Minsk was made independently by the pilot and that he had the option of going to either Poland or Ukraine.

They also said the bomb threat supposedly came from the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in an email addressed to Minsk airport. They reiterated this claim in Tuesday's statement.

The transport ministry also said Tuesday that representatives of international agencies were invited for "further consideration of the circumstances" of the incident.

The invited organisations are the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the EU and US Civil Aviation Authorities.

The Ryanair aircraft travelling from Athens to Vilnius had an opposition activist on board who was arrested in Minsk airport after all passengers disembarked for a security check.

Roman Protasevich, 26, fled Belarus in 2019 to the EU from where he co-ran the Nexta Telegram channels, a key Belarus opposition media that helped mobilise protesters.

Belarusian state TV late on Monday broadcast a short video of Protasevich confirming that he was in prison in Minsk and "confessing" to charges of organising mass unrest.

His allies however say the video was made under pressure from authorities.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×