Historical eventMay 232021

Ryanair Flight 4978

Ryanair Flight 4978 was forced to land by Belarusian authorities, who detained dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

5th anniversary in 2026

Everything on May 23Original source

In context

When
Sunday, May 23 20215 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2020s
Anniversary
5th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2021-05-23.

Place: Minsk National Airport, Belarus.

Type: aircraft hijacking, passenger flight, and forced landing.

Deaths reported: 0. Casualties: 0.

What came before

Part of: hijacking of Roman Pratasevich.

What happened

Incident Approximate route of the flight, showing its diversion toward Minsk On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978 (Athens–Vilnius), [ 1 ] operated by the Polish subsidiary Buzz, [ 2 ] a Boeing 737-800 carrying six crew members and 126 passengers, [ 3 ] was diverted to Minsk National Airport after ground authorities reported a bomb on board, whilst the aircraft was 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) south of Vilnius and 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) west of Minsk ,

Aftermath Belarusian government Following the incident, the Belarusian Ministry of Transport announced that it had set up a commission to investigate the forced landing, stating that it would notify the ICAO and IATA about the investigation's progress and publish a report shortly thereafter. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] On 24 May 2021, the director of the Department of Aviation of the Ministry of Transport of Belarus, Artyom Sikorsky, read out an e-mail letter,

Reactions The act was denounced by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, NATO, and some civil aviation authorities as an act of air piracy and state terrorism ; a violation of international law , including the Convention on International Civil Aviation ; and an infringement of basic human rights by an authoritarian regime. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by a Boeing 737-800 owned by Buzz, a Polish subsidiary of the Irish airline Ryanair. On 23 May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace, it was diverted by the Belarusian government to Minsk National Airport due to alleged claims of a Hamas bombing attempt, where two of its passengers,

May 23 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 2002Kyoto Protocol
  2. 2006Stratovolcano
  3. 2008International Court of Justice
  4. 2013Interstate 5 in Washington
  5. 2014Isla Vista attacks
  6. 2015Tornado outbreak and floods of May 23–26, 2015
  7. 2016Islamic State
  8. 2017Rodrigo Duterte
  9. 2021Stresa–Mottarone cable car crash
  10. 2021Ryanair Flight 4978
  11. 2022Anthony Albanese

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Everything we record for 2021 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Ryanair Flight 4978”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/ryanair-flight-4978-2021-may-23, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Ryanair Flight 4978 happen?

May 23 2021 — 5 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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