Boeing 737 MAX Gets New Orders

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Boeing easily beat rival Airbus in orders for new planes last month, but Chicago-based Boeing trailed its European rival in delivering planes to airline customers. Boeing said that it took orders for 31 planes in July while 17 others were canceled, resulting in a net gain of 14. That compared with two orders for Airbus. It was Boeing’s sixth straight month of positive net orders after seeing cancellations exceed orders for most of 2020. Boeing has reported 270 net orders so far in 2021. Brazil’s Gol ordered nine 737 Max jets last month and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines ordered six. Boeing delivered 28 planes in July, including nine 737 Max jets sent to Irish airline Ryanair. That fell short of Airbus, which delivered 47 planes last month. For the year, Boeing has delivered 184 planes, more than all of 2020. This despite the halt in shipping its 787 jet because of production flaws in the fuselage and nose. Last month, the company said it will cut production of 787s. Deliveries are cri...
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Ryanair Flight 4978

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Forced To Land

On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978 (Athens–Vilnius) was diverted to Minsk National Airport after a bomb threat was made 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, but still in Belarusian airspace. According to the airline, its pilots were notified by Belarusian authorities of "a potential security threat on board" and instructed to land the plane in Minsk.

The flight was carrying 6 crew and 126 passengers. In Minsk, Belarusian opposition activist Roman Protasevich was removed from the plane and arrested on the basis that he was listed on a Belarusian wanted list, accused of "terrorist" activities. His girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, was also removed from the aircraft by Belarusian authorities and detained. No explanation was presented for her arrest by Belarusian authorities. Sapega, a Russian citizen and student at the European Humanities University in Vilnius, was confirmed by the university to have been detained. 


Despite the fact that the plane was closer to Vilnius, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, according to his press service, personally ordered the flight to be redirected to Minsk and sent a Belarusian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft to escort it. Belarusian government news agency BelTA said that the pilots asked to land in Minsk. Both Ryanair and Belarusian law enforcement said that no bombs were found onboard. 


Aside from Protasevich and his girlfriend, four other passengers who are presumed to be Belarusian KGB agents did not continue with the plane to Lithuania. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for an investigation of the incident by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Protasevich had been placed on a list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" the previous year for his role in anti-government protests.

 

Tsikhanouskaya stated that Protasevich "faces the death penalty" in Belarus. As he left the plane, Protasevich independently told another passenger that "the death penalty awaits me here". Another source said that Protasevich faced fifteen years' imprisonment.


According to sources close to Tsikhanouskaya, Protasevich noticed that he was under surveillance at the Athens airport. In his messages, he stated that a man next to him at the line and at the checkpoint tried to take photos of his travel documents. Additionally, Tadeusz Giczan, a member of the Nexta Telegram channel that was previously edited by Protasevich, said that officers of the KGB had been on the flight and that they had "initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew", insisting there was a bomb on board the plane. A spokeswoman for the Lithuanian Airports state enterprise, Lina Beisine, told the AFP news agency that Minsk National Airport said that the flight had been diverted "due to a conflict between a member of the crew and the passengers". 

 


The flight course of FR4978 over Belarus on 23 May became unusual even before making the U-turn. Based on Flightradar24 raw data, it was noted that the plane did not start to descend over Belarus even though this is usually done in preparation for landing in Vilnius. One possibility is that the unusual route indicates that the plane's pilots tried to keep the original direction to get into Lithuanian airspace as soon as possible, but were forced to divert after the Belarusian jet fighter's interference.

The aircraft was allowed to depart after seven hours on the ground at Minsk, reaching Vilnius eight and a half hours late. Protasevich, Sapega and three Russian citizens were not on board the aircraft when it landed at Vilnius. Passengers noted having to wait 2.5 hours without water, toilet breaks or phone calls, while 50 to 60 Belarusian security officers at Minsk airport carried out checks.

International condemnation

The diversion of Ryanair 4978 has been widely condemned by governments and international aviation authorities and trade associations. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued a statement:

ICAO is strongly concerned by the apparent forced landing of a Ryanair flight and its passengers, which could be in contravention of the Chicago Convention. We look forward to more information being officially confirmed by the countries and operators concerned.

While the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline trade association, also condemned the actions, saying:
We strongly condemn any interference or requirement for landing of civil aviation operations that is inconsistent with the rules of international law. Details of the event with flight FR4978 are not clear. A full investigation by competent international authorities is needed.


Full statement from Ryanair

“The crew on a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius today (23 May) were notified by Belarus ATC of a potential security threat on board and were instructed to divert to the nearest airport, Minsk.
The aircraft landed safely and passengers were offloaded while security checks were completed by local authorities.
Nothing untoward was found and authorities cleared the aircraft to depart together with passengers and crew after approx. 7hrs on the ground in Minsk…
The aircraft departed for Vilnius at 18:50hrs UK time (20:50hrs local time in Minsk) and landed safely at 19:25hrs (21:25hrs local time).
Ryanair has notified the relevant national and European safety and security agencies and we apologise sincerely to all affected passengers for this regrettable delay, which was outside of Ryanair’s control”.

 

Positions by Belarus's 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.

On 24 May 2021, director of the Department of Aviation of the Ministry of Transport of Belarus Artyom Sikorsky read out an email letter sent to Minsk airport on 23 May. This message was signed by "Hamas soldiers" and included demands to Israel to "cease fire in Gaza strip" (see 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis) and for the European Union to stop the support of Israel. It was threatened to blow up the plane over Vilnius, according to this letter. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel called the Belarusian explanation "completely implausible". Hamas denied it was in any way connected to the incident.
Sanctions

On 24 May, the Lithuanian cabinet decided on a ban of all flights to and from Lithuania flying over the Belarusian airspace, effective 00:00 GMT, 25 May (03:00 EEST). British transport secretary Grant Shapps instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request that British airlines avoid Belarusian airspace. Belarus state airline Belavia's permit to operate in UK airspace was suspended. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to halt air traffic with Belarus.
Potential sanctions

The EU are due to hold a meeting of leaders on 24 May in Brussels, Belgium. Before the meeting, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called for the EU to impose fresh economic sanctions on Belarus. Calls were made by eight countries for flights over and to Belarus to be banned. Another suggestion was that ground traffic be banned from entering the EU from Belarus. Belavia could be banned from landing at EU airports.





Location: Minsk, Belarus

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