In the afternoon of May 23, Roman Protasevych, co-founder and former editor-in-chief of the NEXTA Telegram channel, was detained in Minsk. Protasevich was on board a Ryanair passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius. When the liner flew over the territory of Belarus, the crew was forced to make an emergency landing at Minsk airport, allegedly due to reports of mines.

Almost a day later, on the evening of May 24, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus announced that Protasevich was being held in SIZO-1 in Minsk. They also assured that he "has no health complaints." The statement was in response to his mother's report that the boy had heart problems. The Belarusian pro-government telegram channel also published a video of the detained Protasevich. On it, he says that is in a pre-trial detention centre-1 of Minsk that "any problems with health, including with heart and with any other bodies", he doesn't have and that the attitude from security officers to it "is as correct as possible and by law".

"Now I continue to cooperate with the investigation and testify about the fact of organizing mass riots in Minsk", - Protasevych said in the video.

Ryanair chairman Michael O'Leary called the forced landing in Belarus a "state hijacking" of the plane and "air piracy" by the Belarusian authorities. He also believes that Belarusian KGB agents were on the plane.

"The decision of the Belarusian authorities to force the Ryanair plane to land in Minsk on Sunday (May 23 - ed.) And to detain the journalist (oppositionist Roman Protasevich - ed.) Was a state-sponsored abduction... state-sponsored piracy", - he said.

According to him, the intention of the authorities was to detain journalist Roman Protasevich on the flight route. He also noted that the plane, which was flying from Italy to Lithuania, was accompanied by fighters after the information appeared that there was an explosive on board, which was never found.

In response to Protasevich's detention, the European Council decided on May 24 to ban Belarusian airlines from flying over the European Union. EU leaders also called on European airlines to avoid flights over Belarus.

"The European Council strongly condemns the forced landing of Ryanair in Minsk, Belarus, on 23 May 2021, which threatens aviation security, and the detention by Belarusian authorities of journalists Raman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega", - was announced by EU in a statement.

Also in the EU "in solidarity with Latvia after the expulsion of diplomats by Belarus".

Immediately after the incident, the Latvian airline AirBaltic decided not to fly over Belarus. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has announced to the Latvian ambassador that he and all embassy staff, with the exception of one technical staff member, must leave the country. The Latvian Foreign Ministry has announced an asymmetrical response to Belarus' actions.

On May 25, it became known that Ukraine will suspend flights to Belarus from May 26.

"Only at an extraordinary meeting did the government instruct the Ministry of Infrastructure, the State Aviation Service and UkSATSE to take the necessary measures", - Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.

In addition, Ukrainian airlines and aircraft will be banned from flying in the airspace of the Republic of Belarus. It is noted that the State Border Guard Service has also been instructed to stop the registration of passengers travelling from Belarus or Belarus to the customs points of airports.

"The situation with the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk is a violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The decision of our government is aimed at ensuring the safety of flights and passengers", - the Prime Minister added.

The Finnish airline Finnair, as well as the French AirFrance, are suspending flights over Belarus. Both airlines explained on May 25 that such a decision would continue until a "further announcement" was announced.

According to Finnair, the new changes will slightly increase the time of some flights.

"We will stop using the airspace of Belarus until further notice. Our next flight to Gazipasa (a city in Turkey - ed.) Next Wednesday. According to the recommendation of Traficom (transport and communications agencies - ed.), This route will bypass the airspace of Belarus," - was informed in a statement.

In addition, according to LeFigaro, the French airline AirFrance announced on May 25 the suspension of flights over Belarus "until further notice" against the background of the conclusions of the European Council.

"AirFrance has taken into account the conclusions of the European Council, and therefore suspends the flight through (Belarusian) airspace with its aircraft until further notice", - was informed by the airline in a statement.

Also on May 25, it became known that the Austrian airline Austrian Airlines and the Polish LOT - will stop flying over Belarus, Belsat reports.

LOT has suspended flights to Minsk and identified alternative routes for flights over the territory of Belarus, according to the Polish Press Agency.

"Before the decision of the EU summit, together with other airlines LufthansaGroup, it was decided that we would fly over Belarusian airspace until further orders", - a representative of Austrian Airlines told to TASS.

Belarus' Belavia, in turn, cancels flights to London and Paris until October 30.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday called for the immediate release of Nexta co-founder Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, who was arrested by Belarusian authorities after their flight was forced to land in Minsk.

"We call for the immediate release of both Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapieha, and they should both be allowed to continue their journey to Lithuania", - the department's spokesman Rupert Colville told to reporters in Geneva.