The German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit condemns the forced landing of Ryanair flight 4978 by Belarus, which was operated by the Polish subsidiary Buzz. Political power interests must not endanger flight safety, according to the VC.

In the meantime, the Belarus government claims that there was a bomb threat from Hamas. However, no evidence was presented. It now seems certain that not only the arrested blogger but also four other people disembarked in Minsk. These are said to have been agents of the KGB secret service.

The German commercial pilots condemn this serious interference with civil aviation. The civil overflight of ICAO member states must be possible without impairing flight safety - regardless of crew members and passengers who are on board. Forcing a machine to land using a military interceptor can seriously jeopardize the safe conduct of the flight due to the psychological pressure and the deviation from standard procedures, according to the VC.

"This encroachment on civil aviation in the middle of Europe is absolutely unacceptable," says Leila Belaasri, press spokeswoman for the VC. “The improper use of bomb threats damages the trust in the reliability of warnings from official bodies. It is one of the most critical situations in air traffic, which puts crews under considerable stress and passengers in fear. We as the VC have no understanding for such political demonstrations of power as we have now witnessed in Belarus. Politics must not be carried out on the backs of crews and passengers in airplanes. "

The Cockpit Association is offering support to the Buzz crew that operated Flight FR 4978 on May 23, 2021. The pilots can contact the VC support hotline at any time.