Bomb Scare Message to Divert Ryanair Flight was Falsely Credited to Hamas

The message about a bomb planted on Ryanair flight FR4978 that was diverted to Minsk on May 23, Belarus was signed off by Palestinian group Hamas and sent to the email address of the Minsk National Airport. A Hamas spokesperson has a subsequently denied the allegation.

Belarusian news ageny, BelTA reported quoting the Director of the Aviation Department of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry, Artyom Sikorsky in what looks to be an elaborate over-up of the hijacking of the airliner:

Blame it on Hamas

On 23 May the Minsk National Airport received an email in English sent from a protonmail.com account. The letter read: “We, soldiers of Hamas, demand that Israel cease fire in the Gaza Strip. We demand that the European Union stop supporting Israel in this war. We know that participants of the Delfi Economic Forum are returning home aboard flight FR4978. A bomb has been planted on the aircraft. If our demands are not met, the bomb will explode over Vilnius on 23 May.”

Taking into account the seriousness of the threat the Minsk National Airport passed on the information to the relevant authorities. “In line with the Chicago Convention and the national program on protecting civil aviation from acts of illegal interference the relevant procedures were launched,” Artyom Sikorsky said.

Information about the threat was passed on to the Ryanair crew right after the aircraft entered Belarus' airspace and communication was established between a Belarusian air traffic controller and the aircraft. “At that time the crew could use the opportunity and return to Lvov, Kiev, could land in Warsaw, continue the flight to Vilnius and so on.

The lure

At 12:34 the air traffic controller suggested the Minsk National Airport where all the necessary equipment for landing aircraft in complicated meteorological conditions is available as well as a runway as long as 3,600 meters. The crew asked to clarify sources of the tip about the bomb several times. The crew was told the initial message had been sent to the Minsk National Airport. Prior to that the flight operations director of the Minsk area center had tried to call Ryanair's representative office in Lithuania several times but he failed to reach any representative of the air carrier,” Artyom Sikorsky said.

The Ryanair crew made the decision to land at the Minsk National Airport, the report said without mentioning that a “follow-me” message from an esortting MiG-20 fighter jet may have influenced the pilot’s decision.