ICAO has released its fact-finding report into the event involving Ryanair flight FR4978 in Belarus airspace. The report was made accessible today to all 193 ICAO Member States, including the 36 States presently elected to the ICAO Council. Council representatives will formally consider any further actions to be taken by ICAO as a result of the report’s findings during a meeting presently scheduled for 31 January.
On that day, the Council will also review a request from Belarus regarding what the State considers to have been unlawful restrictions or sanctions which were placed upon it in the aftermath of the event, by other States and the EU. The FR4978 fact-finding report is based solely on the data and information countries have made available to ICAO, and includes operational details, technical analyses of the various measures and decisions undertaken, and references where applicable to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and applicable international legal instruments.
The report has been compiled by a special Fact-Finding Investigation Team and composed of ICAO experts in the fields of aviation security, aircraft operations, air navigation, and international air law.
