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Home » Belarus » Plot Thickens: Air Traffic Controller In Belarus Who Instructed Ryanair Flight To Divert Is Missing
BelarusRyanair

Plot Thickens: Air Traffic Controller In Belarus Who Instructed Ryanair Flight To Divert Is Missing

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 27, 2021November 14, 2023 9 Comments

a large airplane on a runway

The air traffic controller who directed a Ryanair flight to divert from its path to Vilnius and land in Minsk, Belarus has gone missing.

Air Traffic Controller Goes Missing In Belarus

Oleg Galegov convinced Ryanair pilots to divert to Minsk, Belarus (MSQ) even though Vilnius, Lithuania (VNO) was closer and the scheduled destination, citing a bomb threat onboard. The captain of FR4978 flight ultimately decided to divert after Belarusian fighters were scrambled to escort the flights.

After landing in Minsk, KGB (as the secret police are still called in Belarus) met the aircraft…and promptly arrested dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and his companion Sofia Sapega. The whole affair has been called piracy and an act of state terrorism.


> Read More On Ryanair 4978:

  • Ryanair CEO Calls Belarus Diversion “A State-Sponsored Hijacking”
  • The Captain Made The Right Call In Ryanair Diversion To Belarus
  • Transcript: Ryanair Pilots Communicate With Belarus ATC
  • Belarus Journalist Arrested After Plane Diverted

Now Galegov and his girlfriend have been missing for several weeks, their phones disconnected, and their social media accounts are no longer online. Opposition media reports the couple have defected to the West, seeking refuge in Georgia. Others fear the couple have been taken into state custody in Belarus to avoid revealing to western intelligence the true nature of the Ryanair diversion.

The UK Daily Mirror quotes an air traffic control colleague of Galegov confirming he has not been seen in more than a month:

“Personally, I haven’t seen Oleg for a long time. There are rumours that he has disappeared. Colleagues cannot contact him and are worried. It is impossible to call him, and he deleted his social networks. The authorities have not officially told us anything.

“But I don’t really fear him, because I think he just protected himself and left. He is a great air traffic controller. He will find a job without any problems in any country. The voice on the published recording of the Ryanair incident is his.”

Officials in Belarus have not commented on his whereabouts.

CONCLUSION

This story keeps getting weirder. Hopefully Galegov and his girlfriend diverted to the West and are not in harm. His testimony would be most interesting in developing culpability for Belarus and the Lukashenko regime and holding them accountable.

(H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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9 Comments

  1. S Reply
    July 27, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    There are only two possible options. He was safely taken out of the country, or left, and is laying low. So low he may have a new name and we’ll never hear from him again.

    Or he was going to talk and got iced.

    There are the two choices.

  2. derek Reply
    July 27, 2021 at 5:47 pm

    Hope Kyle won’t be writing an article “PLOT THICKENS: MAN WHO WROTE ABOUT AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER IN BELARUS WHO INSTRUCTED RYANAIR FLIGHT TO DIVERT IS MISSING”. No joke. Sometimes is dictatorships, they get really personal, kidnapping the little people that offend the country.

    • Kyle Stewart Reply
      July 27, 2021 at 6:36 pm

      [Creates new “untitled” post in drafts]

  3. William Reply
    July 27, 2021 at 9:52 pm

    “Hopefully Galegov and his girlfriend diverted to the West and are not in harm.”

    Diverted – that airline lingo sneaks in everywhere #defected ?

  4. Nate nate Reply
    July 28, 2021 at 12:06 am

    “the West”? That’s antiquated phrasing, and in any case I doubt anyone would refer to Georgia (the country) as the West. Wikipedia definitely doesn’t.

    It’s also East of Belarus, and generally an Eastern Orthodox country.

    Do you still refer to countries as third world? That’s just as antiquated.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      July 28, 2021 at 2:33 am

      Antiquated phrasing according to who? Georgia considers itself West and has cultivated close ties to the West after Russian aggressions. Any other gripes?

      https://www.euronews.com/2021/05/19/georgia-s-future-is-european-view

      • Nate nate Reply
        July 28, 2021 at 10:21 am

        Article you linked to doesn’t have the word “west” or “western”, so can’t possibly say Georgia considered itself West. So Georgia is western according to who?

        Are you using West to mean European? Russia and Belarus consider themselves European countries.

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          July 28, 2021 at 11:15 am

          Have you ever been to Tbilisi?

    • Jesda Gulati Reply
      February 20, 2024 at 9:15 am

      As someone from a third world country, please shut the hell up.

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