Representatives of ICAO arrived in Minsk to investigate the circumstances of the landing of the Ryanair aircraft

A group of representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) arrived in Belarus to investigate the incident with an emergency landing in Minsk Ryanair's flight on May 23, the press service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Monday said. The commentary of the department is given by TASS.

“A working meeting was held with representatives of the ICAO group to investigate the fact of landing Boeing 737 Ryanair Airlines at the Minsk National Airport. The head of the ICAO group, Silven Lefoyer, assured that the work of experts will take place in an environment of openness and objectivity, ”the department noted.

The final report on the investigation of the incident with the aircraft is planned to be submitted in two months. “According to the results of the visit, the commission will be amended in a preliminary report, which is planned to be prepared in September 2021. The final report will be presented by November of this year, ”the Ministry of Transport said.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Alexei Avramenko noted that Minsk will provide access to all materials and information for an objective investigation of the circumstances of the incident. “It is necessary to do everything so that the citizens of our countries, as it were before, can freely travel in the Euro -Asian region along the routes convenient for them and on flights of any airline. I am deeply sure that only for the sake of this politician should be put into the background, ”the minister emphasized.

As Alexei Avramenko reminded, the test of Belarus in 2017 on aviation security issues showed that the measures taken in the country by more than 90% meet international requirements.

The director of the Ministry of Transport of the Ministry of Transport, Artem Sikorsky, assured that the authorities are interested in conducting an international transparen investigation in order to establish objective facts related to the events of May 23. “The aviation authorities of Belarus are open for dialogue and are ready to provide comprehensive assistance to experts. The Aviation Department takes all the necessary measures to ensure aviation security within the framework of the obligations taken 28 years ago to the International Civil Aviation Community and passengers, ”he said. For his part, Lefoyer noted that already at the preliminary stage of work, he managed to "get a common picture of events." “Now you need to clarify a number of facts, as well as collect additional information,” he added.

Representatives of ICAO plan in Belarus to visit aviation organizations and meet with personnel, Interfax reports .

On May 23, 2021, the Irish airline Ryanair, which was along the route of Athena - Vilnius, was put at Minsk Airport after receiving a mining report. On behalf of Alexander Lukashenko, a fighter was raised to the sky to accompany the passenger aircraft. Lukashenko personally gave the plane to the landing team.

On board the aircraft were the founder of the opposition Telegram channel Nexta Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend-Russian Sofya Sapga. They were arrested, and the liner with the rest of the passengers flew to Vilnius on the same day.

Protasevich was accused of inciting social enmity, organizing riots and organizing actions grossly violating public order. And Sofya Sapege is charged with inciting social enmity, as well as participating in the riots.

Emergency landing Ryanair caused an international scandal. A number of airlines ordered their pilots to fly to the territory of Belarus. And in Ryanair, the landing was called "pre -reflective hijacking." In early June, the EU Council announced that the ban on the use of Belarusian Air Spaces of the European Union countries, as well as to admission to the EU airports, all types of Belarusian air carriers. Then the European Union, the USA, Great Britain and Canada expanded the sanctions lists adopted in relation to Belarus.