In the aftermath of the spectacular hijacking orchestrated by Minsk and the arrest of the opponent Roman Protassevich, Belarus is the subject, Monday, May 24, of all criticism.
The European Union and NATO are calling for an international investigation and are raising the threat of sanctions.
On Sunday, a Belarusian MiG-29 fighter intercepted Ryanair flight FR4978, as it was preparing to enter Lithuanian airspace, claiming that a "bomb threat" had been reported on board .
Escorted to the Belarusian capital, the plane was forced to land, allowing the authorities to arrest the opponent of the regime, before the plane was allowed to leave for its original destination.
To better understand the ins and outs of this operation, France 24 spoke with the aeronautical consultant and former airline pilot Gérard Feldzer.
France 24: Is this Belarusian intervention to land the plane in Minsk strictly speaking illegal?
Gérard Feldzer:
It's piracy, pure and simple. Each planned flight is the subject of a flight plan communicated to the air traffic services. In France it is the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGRC); each country has its institution. Once the overflights are approved by the authorities, the aircraft cannot be forced to land, except in cases of force majeure.
In the case of Belarus, to justify the hijacking, the authorities are trying to play on an ambiguity by citing a major security problem for passengers, but the ropes are enormous.
The argument put forward of a bomb threat is not credible and moreover nothing was found on board.
In addition, this kind of alert requires an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which in this case was Vilnius.
If there had been a real threat, the diversion to Minsk would therefore have represented an unnecessary endangerment of the passengers.
Does this episode reveal a flaw in aviation safety?
In my opinion, this episode is not a loophole but a criminal act. The security of an air territory (which corresponds to the land territory and territorial waters of a State, Editor's note) is extremely framed. Each country controls the overflight of its territory; it is the air traffic control services that take care of it. They see all the traffic on their radars and inform the pilots in order to avoid any risk of collision. If necessary, they can in particular ask them to divert a few degrees for safety. This service corresponds to taxes paid by companies to the countries concerned. Although it is extremely well-established, this system is not immune from violations. In this case, this is a hostage-taking.
Does this hijacking have any precedents? What answer do you think could be given?
Although this kind of state-orchestrated hijacking is extremely rare, it is not a first.
In 1956, France distinguished itself in a similar case by intercepting a plane of the company Air Atlas-Air Maroc, which was on the Rabbat-Tunis route.
The flight was forced to land in Algiers and five leaders of the National Liberation Front (FLN) were arrested.
More recently, Bolivian President Evo Morales's plane was stranded in 2013 in Vienna at the request of the United States, which suspected it of carrying Edward Snowden.
While these cases sparked diplomatic outcry, they were not the subject of concrete retaliatory measures.
In this case, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) could take action by blacklisting Belarus and issuing a recommendation to states not to overfly its territory. This directive would make it possible to attack Belarus in the portfolio by depriving it of overflight taxes. But this is a non-binding measure, which could be considered too costly for companies because of the detours it causes. If its field of action remains limited, Europe nevertheless has a crucial role to play: it must condemn with one voice this flagrant violation of international law and put pressure to obtain the release of the Belarusian opponent Roman. Protassevich, illegally arrested.
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